INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable Development Summit

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the agenda for the world summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg in September.

Clare Short: The UK Government are working to try to ensure that the world summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg in September commits the international community to work for the systematic reduction of poverty in a sustainable planet. It is only on this basis that the world community will be able to agree on the need to manage the resources of the world sustainably. My own hope is that the summit will bring the development and environment agendas together and thus strengthen the international commitment to poverty eradication.

Sustainable Development Summit

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the United Kingdom's involvement in the preparation for the world summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg in September.

Clare Short: The UK is fully engaged in preparations for the world summit. The Prime Minister was the first world leader to announce his intention to attend. A Cabinet Committee has been established, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister, to co-ordinate the Government's approach. We are working hard—within the EU and internationally—to ensure a successful outcome at Johannesburg.

HIV/AIDS

Harry Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department provides to the Government of Nigeria in helping it to tackle AIDS.

Clare Short: Nigeria has an infection rate for HIV of 5.8 per cent. in the sexually active population. This is the level at which we normally see an exponential increase in infection rates. In some parts of Nigeria the rate is already 20 per cent. Given that one in four of the population of sub-Saharan Africa live in Nigeria, this situation poses a major threat. I recently approved a £50 million seven-year programme that supports behaviour change and distributes condoms using social marketing, targeting vulnerable and high-risks groups. We intend to do more.

HIV/AIDS

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department is giving to Botswana and Namibia to tackle the AIDS epidemic.

Clare Short: We are supporting a £7.5 million regional HIV/AIDS programme with the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The programme aims to develop capacity in Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland to mount an effective response to the HIV epidemic. DFID is also financing Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), and Soul City, a regional non- government organisation, for HIV/AIDS work in the region.

Zimbabwe

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many projects are being funded by Her Majesty's Government in Zimbabwe; and what their costs are.

Clare Short: In Zimbabwe we are spending £18 million this year on 18 programmes, mostly aimed at providing food and medicines and slowing the spread of HIV and AlDS. Our aim is not to assist the Government, but to help the poor.

Zimbabwe

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her response to food shortages in Zimbabwe.

Clare Short: DFID has provided £4 million since September 2001 for a supplementary feeding programme implemented by NGOs, targeting 300,000 people (predominantly children) in the worst hit areas of Zimbabwe. At the beginning of January we announced a contribution of £6 million for the UNDP's Humanitarian Assistance and Recovery Programme; £3.5 million for further feeding programmes and £2.5 million for essential medical supplies and improved access to health care services.

Education Investment

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her priorities are for education investment in the poorest countries.

Clare Short: Our priority in education is to achieve the millennium development goals of universal primary education in all countries by the year 2015 and gender equity in primary and secondary schooling by 2005. Since May 1997 we have committed over £600 million in support of them. Our recent paper "Children out of School" proposes an eight-point plan of international action for accelerating progress towards the 2015 target.

Education Investment

Eric Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what importance she places on the role of education in the context of Government assistance to developing nations.

Clare Short: We give very high priority to education because education is a precondition of development and poverty reduction. We want other development agencies to do likewise. DFID's focus is on ensuring that we achieve the target of quality primary education for all children by 2015. Our education strategy paper, "The challenge of universal primary education", sets out DFID's overall approach and threefold strategy for delivering this goal.

Child Poverty

Iain Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to combat child poverty in developing countries.

Clare Short: We seek to reduce the poverty of children, which causes suffering to today's children and jeopardises the well-being of future generations, by working to address the causes of deprivation in their communities. Support for children's rights to basic health care, education, nutrition, shelter, protection from violence and abusive labour, along with sustainable livelihoods for their parents, is central to my Department's work towards the millennium development goals.
	We are determined to do our utmost to energise the international system to achieve the goals. The goals include the target of, by 2015, lifting one billion people out of abject poverty, universal primary schooling, and reducing under-five child mortality by two thirds. The goals are achievable given greater and more united international effort.

Agriculture Funding (Uganda)

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding is planned for agricultural developments in Uganda in the financial year 2002–03; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: My Department plans to spend approximately £3.35 million on rural livelihoods projects in Uganda in the financial year 2002–03. In addition, DFID intends to provide £35 million of general budget support to the Government of Uganda, which will be used to support Government programmes, including an innovative strategy for rural poverty eradication, known as the plan for the modernisation of agriculture (PMA). This incorporates reforms to key strategies that determine livelihood opportunities for the rural poor, including extension, research, lands and marketing.

Kenya

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on development aid to Kenya.

Clare Short: The aim of British development assistance to Kenya is to reduce poverty. Direct assistance in 2000–01 totalled £52 million, including £15 million as budget support and £12 million on drought relief. We also support the provision of primary school textbooks and materials, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, reproductive health care, malaria prevention, private sector development, public service reform and initiatives to promote civic education and improved access to justice for poor people. In addition, Britain contributed substantially through multilateral agencies including about £2.7 million through the EC's aid programme.

Air Navigation Contract (Tanzania)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the developmental impact of the air navigation contract with Tanzania.

Clare Short: There is general agreement that Tanzania needs a civilian air traffic control system to ensure safety in the country's air space. The issue is whether the contract with British Aerospace meets Tanzania's needs, and represents value for money.
	The Government of Tanzania are working with the World bank and the International Civil Aviation Organisation to address these issues. The developmental impact will depend on whether the system is technically appropriate and affordable within the Government of Tanzania's budget, which is being targeted on priorities set out in its poverty reduction strategy.

Fair Trade

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to promote fairer terms of trade for developing countries.

Clare Short: The Government believe that trade has a vital role to play in helping developing countries to boost their economic growth and generate the resources necessary for reducing poverty. We have made important steps towards achieving these objectives, not least of which was the development agenda agreed at the Doha Ministerial Conference. This is, however, only the beginning of negotiations. To make it a real development round we will work to ensure that these commitments become a reality. We are therefore working with the Department for Trade and Industry, the European Union, the WTO and developing countries to assist them in forming clear and pro-development negotiating positions.
	The UK Government are also at the forefront of efforts to enhance developing countries' capacity to trade. In the White Paper on Globalisation we undertook to double our commitment over the next three years. We have recently pledged a £20 million package of trade related capacity building which will take us towards this goal.

St. Helena

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in improving transport facilities for St. Helena.

Clare Short: A "Comparative Study of Air and Sea Access" was published last July. A copy of the report was placed in the House of Commons Library. It identified various options, which have since been under consideration by the St. Helena Government. As part of that process, the views of the islanders are being sought on the possibility of developing air access in future as an alternative to replacing St. Helena's dedicated passenger and supply ship.

Pakistan

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures her Department is taking to promote peace and reduce poverty in Pakistan.

Clare Short: The UK's bilateral programme in Pakistan is focused on three objectives: creating the economic conditions for poverty reduction and improving health and education outcomes for poor people, improving the accountability of the political system and giving the poor a more effective political voice. We are also working to help entrench effective, inclusive and sustainable democracy in Pakistan.

Children (Armed Conflict)

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what further steps have been taken to ratify the optional protocol to the convention on the rights of children on the involvement of children in armed conflict; and if she will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	The Ministry of Defence has been preparing detailed administrative procedures and guidelines for the UK armed forces which will give concrete form to the commitment, and accompanying declaration, we made on signing the optional protocol to ensure that all feasible measures are taken to avoid the direct participation in hostilities by any of our serving personnel who are under the age of 18. This process is in its final stages and we hope to proceed to ratification soon. Details of the means of implementing the protocol will be covered in an explanatory memorandum to be laid before Parliament in the lead up to ratification. Meanwhile great care continues to be taken in selecting the types of duty on which personnel under the age of 18 may be employed, and I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 January 2002, Official Report, column 14W to the hon. Member for Ludlow (Matthew Green).

Southern Africa

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about her Department's development work in southern Africa.

Clare Short: A new strategy paper will be published this year for DFlD's work in the Southern Africa Customs Union area, which comprises Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. DFID will continue to support the region's efforts to address inherited problems of poverty, inequality and exclusion. We will give increasing priority to work on HIV/AIDS.
	Within the broader Southern African region, DFID also supports programmes in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. DFID is also working to strengthen its partnership with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), following its recent restructuring.

Afghanistan

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Clare Short: Thanks to the efforts of the UN-led humanitarian system, and with the support of the international community, a potential humanitarian catastrophe has been averted in Afghanistan. But at least five million people will remain dependent on food aid and other emergency support over the coming year. Unless there is significant rainfall in the next few weeks, a fourth consecutive year of drought looks likely. Large numbers of Afghans are beginning to return from neighbouring countries, including around 10,000 people from Iran in the last few weeks, and approximately 3,000 a day from Pakistan.
	While it is vital that we prepare for longer-term development in Afghanistan, we must also continue to provide urgent humanitarian assistance, particularly over the remaining winter months. The UN has launched an Immediate and Transitional Assistance Programme (ITAP) for the Afghan people in 2002. This paper identifies a package of unmet humanitarian needs and calls for $736 million of donor support this year to help cover gaps in emergency provision.
	At the Tokyo conference on Afghan reconstruction earlier this week, I announced a UK commitment of £200 million ($288 million) over the next five years. These funds will be used for both reconstruction and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the outcome of the Tokyo conference on reconstruction and development in Afghanistan.

Clare Short: I refer my hon. Friend to my statement to the House on 28 January 2002, Official Report, column 21–36.

Sudan

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of Sudan's prospects for peace and long-term development.

Clare Short: I visited Sudan recently to assess the prospects for peace and development. In my discussions with Sudanese leaders and others in the north and south of the country, I found that both sides in the conflict were yearning for peace. I concluded that there is now a real window of opportunity for the UK and the rest of the international community to engage in dialogue to help Sudan bring this long running conflict to an end.
	I believe the UK can play a significant role in helping resolve the conflict and that our involvement would be welcomed by both sides. My Department is now considering ways in which the UK can exert influence in the peace process. We will aim to raise and maintain the conflict's profile in the international arena, and to build the pressure for a just peace. This will involve discussing Sudan with the World bank, IMF and the EU as well as with African countries with the potential to help. It will also be important to maintain the continued interest and involvement from the US and we will work with them at official and ministerial level to ensure this.
	Long-term development of Sudan cannot be achieved without an end to the war. Such a partnership would depend on an end to the conflict, sustainable peace and political stability, as well as a commitment on the part of the Sudanese Government to poverty eradication.

Illiteracy

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to combat illiteracy in developing countries.

Clare Short: DFlD's major focus for tackling illiteracy is helping developing countries achieve the millennium development goal of universal primary education for all by 2015. Increasing access to good quality primary education and ensuring that children are literate when they leave school is essential for development and poverty reduction. Since 1997 the Government have committed over £600 million to support sustainable education systems in developing countries able to provide high quality primary education for all children.
	We will do more. We will also give increasing attention to helping developing countries tackle adult illiteracy.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the United Kingdom Government's quick-start demobilisation programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Clare Short: During my visit to DRC in August last year, I pledged the UK's support for the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants. The DRC Government have not yet taken up this offer of assistance. They have, however, assembled 1,800 soldiers in the Kamina cantonment and we are working with the Congolese and Rwandan Governments to try to ensure that they are properly screened and, if appropriate, returned to Rwanda. We stand ready to provide any useful support we can to the process. We are also providing direct assistance to MONUC to enable peacekeeping forces to deploy in the east of DRC.

Education (India)

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to assist the Indian Government to provide education for the children of low-income families.

Clare Short: We have committed about £200 million to expanding and improving primary education in India through the District Primary Education Programme in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal, through the Lok Jumbish and Shiksha Karmi programmes in Rajasthan, and for post-cyclone reconstruction of schools in Orissa.
	The programmes specifically target poor children, especially girls and disadvantaged groups, such as the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and working and disabled children. These are highly successful programmes that are having a significant impact on enrolment, retention and quality, reaching increasing numbers of out-of-school children and involving high levels of community participation.
	We are currently discussing with the Government of India how we can further support their efforts to universalise education up to the age of 14, in the light of their 'Elementary Education as a Fundamental Right' Bill and recent Constitutional Amendment on the same subject.

Debt Relief

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress the Government are making on relieving debt owed by the world's poorest countries.

Clare Short: Following a radical overhaul of the heavily indebted poor countries initiative in 1999, to ensure faster, deeper debt relief, up to $100 billion debt could be written off for the 42 HIPC countries. To date, 24 countries have qualified for this exceptional debt relief. Relief of more than $54 billion will be provided to these countries, reducing their debts by more than two-thirds on average. We hope that at least two more countries—Ghana and Sierra Leone—will qualify for debt relief in the coming months, but substantial further progress will be difficult, as many of the remaining HIPC countries are affected by conflict.
	The Government have already written off their aid debts to all the poorest countries. The UK is also the second largest contributor ($306 million) to the HIPC Trust Fund to help international financial institutions meet their share of HIPC costs.

Western Sahara Refugees

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support she provides for refugees from the Western Sahara in Algeria.

Clare Short: Support for refugees from the Western Sahara in Algeria is mostly channelled through three agencies: the United Nation's High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR); the World Food Programme (WFP); and the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO). UNHCR's budget for the refugees from Western Sahara amounted to about US$3.3 million in 2001. The WFP aims to provide 64,500 tons of food (costing US$27.5 million) in its 2000–02 programme. ECHO's Global Plan 2001 began last September and aims to provide Euro 11.8 million in humanitarian support to the refugees, of which approximately 15 per cent. is attributable to contributions from the UK. Smaller amounts of financial and food aid assistance are provided by other EU member states.

Aid (Africa)

Eric Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was provided by the Government in (a) development and (b) humanitarian aid to (i) Burundi, (ii) Angola, (iii) Uganda, (iv) Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, (v) Zimbabwe, and (vi) Zambia in the financial year 1996–97; and what the projected figures are in each case for the 2001–02 financial year.

Clare Short: Historical expenditure figures broken down by aid type for each of the countries listed, for the five financial years 1996–97 to 2000–01, are published in "Statistics on International Development" (SID), Table 7.1 Bilateral Aid by Country (Africa). Beginning on page 77, the relevant column to read is Total Gross Public Expenditure (GPEX). A coy of this publication is in the Library of the House.
	In the current financial year the following amounts have been allocated to each country for both development and humanitarian assistance (including in some cases peace related activities):
	
		£ million 
		
			  Development Humanitarian assistance Total 
		
		
			 Angola 2.5 1.27 3.77 
			 Burundi 0.05 0 0.05 
			 Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 0.1 10.4 10.5 
			 Rwanda 30.0 0 30.0 
			 Uganda 68.0 0 68.0 
			 Zambia 56.0 1.0 57.0 
			 Zimbabwe 8.0 10.0 18.0 
		
	
	Note that these figures are incomplete estimates as provisional expenditure data will not be available until after the end of the financial year once information on spending by other UK Government Departments has been collected. Countries where final expenditure figures are likely to increase are Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia as they currently receive CDC investments and debt relief.

Inter-Congolese Dialogue

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if her Department will provide assistance to South Africa to help further the inter- Congolese dialogue this year.

Clare Short: Financial support for the inter-Congolese dialogue is channelled through the Office of the Facilitator. The UK has so far made the third largest contribution of all donors to the dialogue. We are in close touch with the Office of the Facilitator about future financial requirements. We are also in close touch with the Government of South Africa, who have offered to meet the main costs of hosting the next session of the dialogue.

Generic Drug Use

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement regarding the promotion of generic drug use in developing nations.

Clare Short: Generic drugs play a key role in addressing the disease burden of developing countries: at present 95 per cent. of drugs on the World Health Organisation's essential drug list (including almost all treatments for TB and malaria) are off patent and available generically.
	But patent protection—as set out in the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS)—remains important for new medicines as an incentive for future research. We support the TRIPS agreement, and the recent declaration at the World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Doha, which made clear that the agreement should be interpreted and implemented in such a way as to protect public health and promote access to medicines for all.
	We are promoting the appropriate use of both generic and patented drugs in developing countries. We will shortly be disbursing the first instalment of our $200 million contribution to the global fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, to finance increased coverage of tried and tested interventions for the three diseases. Since 1997 we have committed over £1 billion to strengthen developing countries' health systems, in order that more drugs reach the poor who need them.

PRIME MINISTER

Forward Strategy Unit

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 22 January 2002, Official Report, columns 723–24W, Ref. 29065, for what reason the budgets of the (a) Forward Strategy Unit and (b) Delivery Unit have not yet been set; what working assumption has been applied to the budget provision; and on what date an announcement will be made.

Tony Blair: Allocations to the new units within the Cabinet Office will be made in the usual way. They will be fully accounted for as with any other unit in the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office publishes an annual account. Budgets are not broken down by management unit.

Forward Strategy Unit

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the projects under consideration by the Forward Strategy Unit.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 November 2001, Official Report, column 104W.

Forward Strategy Unit

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister how many (a) special advisers and (b) civil servants were employed in (i) the Forward Strategy Unit and (ii) the Delivery Unit on 1 January.

Tony Blair: At 1 January 2002, eight full-time and three part-time civil servants based in the Cabinet Office were working in the Forward Strategy Unit, and no special advisers.
	Civil servants from other Departments assist the FSU with its work as required.
	17 full-time and three part-time civil servants were employed in the Delivery Unit, and no special advisers, on that date.

Lord Birt

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 22 January 2002, Official Report, columns 723–24W, on Lord Birt, for what reason he is not able to answer the questions relating to the role of Lord Birt, Refs. 29190, 29185, 29315, 29184, 29191, 29187, 29182, 29186, 29183, 29194 and 29188.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to my previous answer.

Foot and Mouth

Tim Collins: To ask the Prime Minister if all papers under his control relating to the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak are being made available to Dr. Iain Anderson as part of his inquiry into lessons learned from the foot and mouth outbreak.

Tony Blair: The Government are committed to full co-operation with the inquiry.

Foot and Mouth

Tim Collins: To ask the Prime Minister if he (a) has given and (b) will be giving (i) oral and (ii) written evidence to Dr. Iain Anderson's Lessons Learned Inquiry into the foot and mouth outbreak.

Tony Blair: I am giving full co-operation to Dr. Anderson in this important inquiry and had an initial meeting with him on 22 January.

National Air Traffic Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  on what recent dates the financial situation of NATS has been discussed by Cabinet Ministers;
	(2)  what discussions there have been by Cabinet Ministers on the CAA's representations relating to the ability of the Airlines Group business plan for NATS to withstand a major incident; and on what dates.

Tony Blair: Information relating to the proceeding of Cabinet and internal discussions between Ministers is not disclosed under Exemption 2, Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

National Air Traffic Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  whether he received a copy of the CAA representations on the ability of the Airlines Group business plan for NATS to withstand a major incident;
	(2)  what advice he received from the CAA on representations it has made on the ability of the Airlines Group business plan for NATS to withstand a major incident.

Tony Blair: The terms of the public-private partnership for National Air Traffic Services were accepted by all the parties involved, including the Civil Aviation Authority. It would not be appropriate to discuss the detail of discussions which led up to the conclusion of this commercial deal.

Hospitality

Chris Grayling: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the people who received official hospitality at No. 10 Downing street in 2001.

Tony Blair: It is not my practice to give details of every visitor to 10 Downing street. In 2001, around 4,300 visitors received hospitality.
	The programme of events is designed to give people the opportunity to visit No. 10, including for example regular children's tea parties and receptions for a wide-ranging cross section of the community. In 2001 these included receptions for teachers, NHS workers, the police, members of the emergency services and victims of the floods.
	I also provided hospitality to visiting world political leaders, and a wide range of other organisations and individuals.
	No. 10 has also been used for a large number of charity receptions which were funded by the charities involved, who were also responsible for drawing up the guest lists.
	In addition, I hosted a number of political events funded by the Labour party.

Whittington Hospital

Andrew Turner: To ask the Prime Minister what information his officials (a) sought and (b) received from the Whittington hospital on the case of (i) Mrs. Rose Addis, (ii) James Scott-Faulkner, (iii) Mr. Sidney Hockley and (iv) Mr. Tom Grangevision; and if he will publish the verbatim text of briefings offered by his officials to the press on these cases.

Tony Blair: My officials obtained copies of the press statements made by the trust after they were published which in themselves were in accordance with the guidance, "The Protection and Use of Patient Information", issued by the Department of Health. All Lobby briefings by my official spokesman are on-the-record. An account of them is published on the No. 10 website.

TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on what date he told Schroder Salomon Smith Barney that the Chairman of Railtrack had requested further financial support, as indicated in the letter from SSSB to his Department, dated 7 October.

David Jamieson: My Department first contacted Schroder Salomon Smith Barney on 6 August 2001 to ask for advice in assessing Railtrack's request for additional financial support.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  whether Schroder Salomon Smith Barney advised him that Railtrack was insolvent;
	(2)  what advice he received from Schroder Salomon Smith Barney relating to factors other than Government support which would have prevented Railtrack from raising the additional debt finance assumed in its business plan.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 November 2001, Official Report, column 495W.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether a company limited by guarantee has been established to bid for Railtrack plc.

David Jamieson: A team to develop a bid based on the concept of a company limited by guarantee has been established and its bid costs are being met by the Strategic Rail Authority. A company limited by guarantee has not yet been established.

Railtrack

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps are being taken to establish a value of Railtrack shares to allow individual shareholders to complete their financial affairs at the end of the tax year.

David Jamieson: holding answer 28 January 2002
	The administrator will be seeking to obtain the best value that he can for the assets of Railtrack plc. Shareholders will receive the value to which they are properly entitled.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2002, Official Report, column 861W, on Railtrack, for what specific purposes the additional public funding of £4.5 billion announced with the SRA strategic plan was allocated.

David Jamieson: The additional £4.5 billion relates to (i) the October 2000 final conclusions of the Rail Regulator's periodic review of access charges, (ii) the April 2001 agreement between Government and Railtrack, and (iii) provision for further project development work.

Rail Fares

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what has been the percentage increase in unregulated rail fares (a) in the UK, (b) within the South Central franchise and (c) within the Thameslink franchise for each year from 1997; and what has been the largest individual price increase for a journey within the above categories for the same period.

John Spellar: holding answer 16 January 2002
	The information required is not held centrally. Unregulated fares are a matter for individual train operating companies who set the level of these according to their own commercial criteria.

Commuter Routes (London)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made on how Thameslink 2000, South London Metro and the East London line would use common corridors; and whether this can be achieved in a way consistent with the Strategic Rail Authority's goal of reducing the number of operators on key commuter routes in London.

John Spellar: The integrated planning of the southern timetable is being carried out by Railtrack for GoVia, with active involvement from the SRA. The work is focused on maximising the use of the network for all relevant operators.

Strategic Rail Authority

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which investment commitments in the SRA plan have not been announced previously by the SRA or the Government.

David Jamieson: The SRA Strategic Plan sets out, for the first time in nearly 50 years, a plan to lead to the expansion of Britain's railways. It sets out a series of prioritised measures to improve the rail network and ensure the 10-year plan rail targets are met. Many of the individual projects covered in the plan have been previously identified, including in the strategic agenda of 13 March 2001.

Strategic Rail Authority

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 22 January, Official Report, column 711W, on the Strategic Rail Authority, what proportion of the network will require ERTMS; and if he will list the lines concerned.

David Jamieson: The plan for the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), incorporating an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) function, on the UK rail network is at present being prepared by a pan-industry team under the direction of the Strategic Rail Authority and Rail Safety Ltd. It is a complex undertaking as there are various levels of ERTMS at present under trial throughout Europe (including a major trial on West Coast Main Line) and the optimum infrastructure and rolling stock approach for the varied UK routes has to be found.
	The work of the pan-industry team is progressing very well and it is anticipated that an industry plan defining the recommended extent of ERTMS fitment together with a major route by route strategy and timescale will be available in April. A key input into the team's work has been the recommended priorities and objective defined in the Uff Cullen report, which will, to the extent feasible, be reflected in the plan.

Strategic Rail Authority

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the commitments in the SRA Strategic Plan which are contingent on (a) the completion of franchise negotiations which are running behind schedule and (b) the establishment of special purpose vehicles.

David Jamieson: I refer to my answer of 8 January 2002, Official Report, columns 601–02W. The Strategic Plan assumes that most large priority infrastructure projects will involve at least some funding through special purpose vehicles whose details and extent will be a matter for commercial negotiation in due course.

Strategic Rail Authority

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proportion of the cost of the proposed South West Trains upgrade outlined in the SRA Strategic Plan is projected to be raised from the private sector; and what total amount that represents.

David Jamieson: Costs of individual elements of the proposed new South West Trains franchise are a matter for the SRA's current commercial negotiations on the franchise.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if it is his policy to close rural or under-used passenger rail services or lines to create additional capacity on major routes.

David Jamieson: We have no such policy.

Channel Tunnel Freight Services

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps are being taken to ensure normal freight services are resumed through the channel tunnel.

David Jamieson: There have been many contacts between the British and French Governments since November.
	The removal of the restrictions is dependent on the implementation of additional security measures at the Calais Fréthun yard so that SNCF can deal effectively with potential illegal immigrants.
	The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions and the Home Secretary have all written to their French counterparts to ask that all necessary measures be put in place as soon as possible, to enable full rail freight services to resume.

Channel Tunnel Freight Services

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he last discussed with the French Government the SNCF restriction of channel tunnel rail freight services; and when he expects the restrictions to be removed.

John Spellar: I discussed this issue with Monsieur Gayssot, the French Transport Minister, during the last Transport Council meeting in December. Since then, the Secretary of State has written personally to M. Gayssot and there have been a number of other contacts between our Governments.
	The removal of the restrictions is dependent on the implementation of additional security measures at the Calais Fréthun yard so that SNCF can deal effectively with potential illegal immigrants. Work on strengthened fencing is now under way and, we are told, due to be completed by mid-February. The Prime Minister has written to M. Jospin asking him to do all he can to ensure the necessary physical security measures and police presence are put in place as soon as possible, to enable the resumption of a full rail freight service through the tunnel.

Work Force Injuries

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people in (a) the UK and (b) Buckinghamshire left the work force following injury or illness caused at work, in each year since 1997.

Alan Whitehead: The regular statistical sources do not provide a basis for reliable estimates of the data requested. However, the HSE publication "The costs to Britain of workplace accidents and ill health in 1995–96" (the most recent such data available) estimates that in Great Britain approximately 27,000 people 1 were forced to give up work in 1995 as a result of injury or illness caused by work.
	1 It should be noted that this is a statistically imprecise estimate, based on aggregating two different sources, and the statistical 95 per cent. confidence interval around this estimate runs from 16,000 to 42,000.

Train Drivers

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps were taken by the Government (a) prior to 1 May 1997, (b) between 1 May 1997 and 24 February 1999 and (c) since 25 February 1999 to ensure adequate numbers of trained train drivers within the railway industry; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: When franchises were originally let in 1996 the purpose of the Government at the time was to give train operators full discretion and responsibility for providing resources, including drivers, to meet their obligations. In November 1998 the Government held a meeting with Railtrack and the train operating companies to discuss the poor performance of the industry and to agree a plan to deliver solutions. Part of that plan included the recruitment and training of 800 new drivers. The SRA is currently encouraging train operators to recruit sufficient drivers to meet their service obligations. In some cases the extension or replacement of franchise agreements will enable the SRA to contractualise measures to ensure adequate numbers.

London Underground

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions who he intends shall be liable for maintaining disused underground tunnels under PPP.

David Jamieson: All parts of the London underground infrastructure have been allocated to one of the three infrastructure companies that were established as subsidiaries of London Underground in April 2000. Under the PPP, the infrastructure companies will transfer to the private sector. They will continue to be responsible for maintaining and modernising the infrastructure in accordance with detailed contractual obligations. These obligations include a requirement to maintain disused underground tunnels in a safe and secure condition, and in a manner which prevents deterioration.

Sunday Bus Services

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many bus services were running on Sundays in each year between 1990 and 2000.

John Spellar: This information is not held centrally.

Road Traffic Accidents

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many road traffic accidents took place on Sundays in each year between 1990 and 2000.

John Spellar: The numbers of injury road accidents which took place on Sundays are as shown. No information is available regarding the numbers of damage only accidents.
	
		Injury road accidents on Sundays: Great Britain
		
			   Number 
		
		
			 1990 29,592 
			 1991 25,949 
			 1992 26,121 
			 1993 23,925 
			 1994 24,539 
			 1995 25,606 
			 1996 26,025 
			 1997 26,058 
			 1998 25,945 
			 1999 25,678 
			 2000 25,941

Road Traffic Accidents

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of the percentage of drivers of company vehicles who have had an accident in the last three years.

David Jamieson: No estimate is available for the percentage of company vehicle drivers who have had an accident in the last three years.
	However, recent research shows that fleet car drivers have a higher probability of involvement in accidents than other drivers. This confirms the results of other research studies. It has also been estimated that between a quarter and a third of road accidents involved someone who was working at the time.

Council Staff (Sunday Working)

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many local council employees were required to work on Sundays in each year between 1990 and 2000.

Nick Raynsford: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Libraries of the House.

High Hedges

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress is being made on preparing for control of high hedges.

Sally Keeble: holding answer 29 January 2002
	The Government will introduce legislation giving local authorities the power to deal with complaints about high hedges as soon as there is space in the parliamentary timetable. We supported the Private Member's Bill on this issue introduced by the hon. Member for Solihull (Mr. Taylor) in the last session of Parliament and were disappointed that the Bill failed to complete all its stages before the election.
	Guidelines commissioned by my Department, which provide an objective method for assessing whether high hedges block out too much light to adjoining properties, were published on our website in December. These guidelines are likely to be a factor for local authorities to take into account when determining complaints under a future statutory scheme. In the meantime, we want to encourage people to apply the guidelines and use the results to settle disputes with their neighbours amicably. We are preparing a leaflet specifically designed for this purpose, which we expect to launch in the spring.

Gatwick Airport

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of the level of slot demand as a proportion of supply at Gatwick airport for summer 2002; and if he will make a statement on actual supply and demand for slots in (a) 2001, (b) 2000, (c) 1999, (d) 1998 and (e) 1997.

David Jamieson: holding answer 29 January 2002
	For summer 2001, the demand for slots at Gatwick was 206,419 and 174,484 slots were allocated. For summer 2002, the demand for slots rose to 231,211 with 177,657 slots being allocated. However, the increase in demand was due to a number of opportunistic bids for slots following the events of 11 September. I will write to my hon. Friend in due course to make a statement on supply and demand for slots in 1997–2001.

Lord Birt

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 24 January 2002, refs 29312, 29314 and 29316, Official Report, column 1054W for what reasons he is not able to answer the questions relating to the work of Lord Birt.

David Jamieson: The answers to these questions are set out in the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 January 2002, Official Report, columns 723–24W, to which I have already referred the hon. Member.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what percentage of (a) large and (b) small NDPBs are subject to scrutiny by the Audit Commission.

Alan Whitehead: The audit arrangements for all executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are listed in the annual publication "Public Bodies". No audit details are provided for the other types of NDPB as their spend is usually negligible. In the majority of cases the National Audit Office (i.e. the Comptroller and Auditor General) is the external auditor. However, some executive NDPBs employ commercial auditors and, in such cases, the NAO has been granted inspection rights.
	The Audit Commission rarely audits NDPB accounts. It does not keep records to enable it to identify separately any NDPB audits. The Audit Commission has only gained responsibility for auditing NDPB accounts when there has been a round of local government reorganisation and where some residuary or stand-alone bodies have been created by statute, which are treated by their founding legislation as local authorities, for the purposes of the Audit Commission Act 1998.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what powers local authorities have to influence the spending and policy of NDPBs that have branches at local level.

Alan Whitehead: Local government has no statutory powers to influence the spending and policy of NDPB's that have branches at local level. Various powers exist which enable innovation and closer working between local authorities and their partners, including the discretionary power in the Local Government Act 2000 to do anything they consider likely to promote the economic, social and environmental well being of their area.

Tyne and Wear Metro

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2002, Official Report, column 866W, on Tyne and Wear metro, what requirements imposed by the Health and Safety Executive have made this common usage possible.

David Jamieson: The new extension of the Tyne and Wear metro runs, in part, along existing mainline network. Therefore, HSE has required all of the signals on the metro extension to be fitted with an automatic train protection system (Train Protection and Warning System) similar to those fitted to the rest of this stretch of the mainline network. This is to ensure that all trains that pass a signal at danger are automatically brought to a halt.

National Air Traffic Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Treasury on the CAA representation on the ability of the Airlines Group business plan for NATS to withstand a major incident;
	(2)  what advice he received from the Civil Aviation Authority on the ability of the Airlines Group's business plan for NATS to withstand a major incident;
	(3)  if he will deposit in the Library a copy of the CAA's submission about the ability of the Airlines Group Business Plan for NATS to withstand a major incident.

David Jamieson: The terms of the public-private partnership for NATS were accepted by all the parties involved, including the Civil Aviation Authority. It would not be appropriate to disclose the detail of discussions prior to conclusion of this commercial deal.

National Air Traffic Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he has prepared a contingency plan for NATS going into administration or receivership.

David Jamieson: No such plan has been prepared.

National Air Traffic Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when (a) he and (b) his officials last met NATS to discuss its financial situation.

David Jamieson: Ministers and officials maintain regular contact with NATS.

National Air Traffic Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has received, other than from that of the CAA, about the ability of NATS to withstand a major incident.

David Jamieson: No such representations have been received.

National Air Traffic Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has received from banks backing NATS seeking additional public financial support for the business.

David Jamieson: The banks backing NATS are in regular discussion with the Government and all other relevant parties regarding the company's financial situation.

National Air Traffic Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he last met NATS' bankers to discuss its financial situation.

David Jamieson: No such meetings have been held.

Central Trains

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what commitment Central Trains has made to introduce new rolling stock during the period of its two year franchise extension.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) is considering the possibility of a two year extension to the current Central Trains franchise aimed at achieving an early increase in capacity but no commitments have been made by either party.

Rail Interoperability

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether his Department has held discussions with its counterpart in the Irish Republic about rail interoperability on the routes that link ports with access to the Republic and the Channel Tunnel.

David Jamieson: My Department and the Strategic Rail Authority are in regular contact with counterparts in the Irish Republic on a range of issues, but this has not included the specific issue of projects to adapt such routes to european interoperability specifications.

Rail Freight

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2002, Official Report, column 865W, on freight facilities, what additional funds are being made available for rail freight.

David Jamieson: The 10-year plan provides £3.5 billion of funding for rail freight over 10 years, to provide capital investment and revenue support.

East London Line

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2002, Official Report, column 866W, on the East London line, if the references to the East London line in the SRA Strategic Plan apply only to the extension to Dalston Junction.

David Jamieson: The references in the SRA Strategic Plan are to the full East London line extension project, including both northern and southern extensions.

Bus Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the financial allocation by his Department is to support bus services in (a) London and (b) the remainder of the south-east.

Sally Keeble: Bus services, and transport issues in London in general, are a matter for the Mayor and Transport for London. However, I hope that the following will be helpful.
	The Government allocate a block transport grant which the Mayor is free to spend in accordance with the Transport Strategy for London. In the current financial year that grant is some £714 million, and will rise to just over £1 billion next year. The Government have also supported specific projects such as the London Bus Initiative, through its Capital Modernisation Fund. The Mayor has consistently stated that investment in buses is one of his highest priorities.
	As far as bus services outside London are concerned, it is for individual local authorities to decide how much of their Revenue Support Grant settlement to allocate to the support of bus services.
	However, authorities in the south-east, as elsewhere, benefit from the specific funding schemes we have introduced to support bus services. Authorities in the south-east Government office region have been allocated a total of £9.14 million in Rural Bus Subsidy Grant in the current financial year. This will increase to £10.46 million in 2002–03. In addition, we have recently announced awards for authorities in the south-east totalling £2.7 million as a result of latest round of the Rural Bus Challenge and of £461,000 from first round of the Urban Bus Challenge. We have also awarded £425,000 for an Urban Bus Challenge project in London.
	In addition, under support for capital expenditure to implement their local transport plans, authorities in the south-east outside London have been allocated £179 million for local transport projects in 2002–03. Bus services will benefit significantly from many of these projects.
	In addition all operators of local bus services, inside and outside London, receive Fuel Duty Rebate from my Department.

London Rail Termini

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answers of 23 January 2002, Official Report, columns 866–67W, on London rail termini and Waterloo, if it is his policy to permit the new proposed Wessex franchise to operate services into Waterloo.

David Jamieson: The review of whether services using Waterloo should continue to be controlled by a single operator has not yet been commenced by the Strategic Rail Authority. Statutory consultees will be involved by the authority in this review.

Ireland/UK/Benelux Road Link

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the status is of the Ireland/UK/Benelux road link in the Essen list, with particular reference to the proposed route west of the M6 motorway.

David Jamieson: The Ireland/UK/Benelux road link is one of the 14 transport trans-European network (TEN) projects to which the Essen European Council attributed particular importance. There are no plans to change this status. Decision 1692/96/EC provides guidelines for the development of the TEN and Annex 1 to the Decision contains a map of the TEN road network in the UK. The European Commission has recently published proposals to amend the guidelines and in negotiations the Government will seek to ensure that all routes on the UK road map—including the one west of the M6 motorway—are, if appropriate, updated to reflect current circumstances.

Multi-modal Studies

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many multi-modal studies (a) have been completed and (b) will be completed during 2002.

David Jamieson: The following list shows the multi-modal studies that have reported.
	Multi-modal study
	Access to Hastings
	Cambridge to Huntingdon (A14)
	South-east Manchester (Stockport, Manchester Airport Link West, Poynton)
	West midlands area (M5/M6 and M42 between M40 and M6).
	A list of the multi-modal studies expected to report in 2002 are set out as follows:
	Multi-modal study
	West midlands to north-west (M6)
	Tyneside area (A1/A19)
	South and west Yorkshire motorway box (M1 J30 to A1 west Yorks/M18/M62 and A1(M)
	A453 (M1 to J24 (Nottingham)
	North/south movements in east midlands (M1 junctions 21 to 30)
	Hull (east/west) corridor (A63 and A1033 to port of Hull)
	A1 (north of Newcastle)
	London to Ipswich (A12)
	South coast (Southampton to Folkestone coastal corridor)—(M27, A27 and A259)
	M60 junction 12–18 (west to north Manchester)
	London to south midlands (A1, M1, M11, A5 and A421)
	London to Reading (Thames Valley -M4)
	London to south-west and south Wales (A303, M4)
	ORBIT-Transport solutions around London (M25).

Council Tax

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people have not paid council tax in each local authority in descending order for 2000–01.

Alan Whitehead: Central Government does not collect information on the number of people who have not paid council tax.

Rate Capping

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which local authorities have been rate-capped in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Whitehead: I am able to provide information on English local authorities only. Local government finance is a devolved matter and capping in Wales is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.
	For the financial years 1991–92 to 2001–02 the following English local authorities were capped for the purposes of the community charge and council tax:
	1991–92
	Basildon
	Bristol
	Ipswich
	Lambeth
	Norwich
	Stoke-on-Trent
	Warwickshire county council
	Wirral
	1992–93
	Basildon
	Cheltenham
	Gloucester
	Gloucestershire
	Greenwich
	Hillingdon
	Lambeth
	Warwickshire
	1993–94
	Castle Point
	Gloucestershire
	Harlow
	1994–95
	City of Sheffield
	1995–96
	Devon county council
	Gloucestershire county council
	Shropshire county council
	Somerset county council
	Lincolnshire police authority
	Barnsley metropolitan borough
	City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
	City of Sheffield
	City of Norwich
	1996–97
	Cambridgeshire county council
	Oxfordshire county council
	1997–98
	Oxfordshire county council
	Somerset county council
	Warwickshire county council
	1998–99
	Derbyshire county council
	1999–2000
	None
	2000–01
	None
	2001–02
	None.

Rent Arrears

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the level of rent arrears was by local authority in descending order in 2000–01.

Sally Keeble: A table showing the level of rent arrears as reported by each local authority in England at the end of the financial year 2000–01 has been placed in the Libraries of the House. The local authorities are shown in descending order of total arrears.

Mortgage Arrears

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many households were in mortgage arrears by region, expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures, in the latest year for which figures are available.

Sally Keeble: This information is not collected by my Department. Data are compiled by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, but only for the United Kingdom as a whole and not for individual regions. The number of UK households in mortgage arrears of three months or more in 2000 were as follows:
	
		
			 Length of arrears Number of households As percentage of all households with mortgages 
		
		
			 3–6 months 95,260 0.85 
			 6–12 months 47,820 0.43 
			 Over 12 months 20,820 0.19 
			 All with arrears of 3 months plus 163,900 1.47 
		
	
	Source:
	Council of Mortgage Lenders

Housing Benefit Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many housing benefit officers were employed by local authorities in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Whitehead: The information requested is not available.

Property Repossessions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many court repossessions of property there were in each of the past 15 years.

Sally Keeble: The numbers of properties in the United Kingdom repossessed by mortgage lenders in each of the past 15 years is estimated to have been as follows:
	
		
			  Properties repossessed 
		
		
			 1986 24,090 
			 1987 26,390 
			 1988 18,510 
			 1989 15,810 
			 1990 43,890 
			 1991 75,540 
			 1992 68,540 
			 1993 58,540 
			 1994 49,210 
			 1995 49,410 
			 1996 42,560 
			 1997 32,770 
			 1998 33,820 
			 1999 30,030 
			 2000 22,960 
		
	
	Source:
	Council of Mortgage Lenders

Household Overcrowding

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what his estimate is of the number of households that are officially described as overcrowded by region according to (a) percentage figures and (b) total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures in the latest year for which figures are available.

Sally Keeble: No estimates are available based on the statutory definition of overcrowding in the Housing Act (1985). The information provided in the table is based on the 'bedroom standard', which is a well established statistical measure of overcrowding.
	
		Households in England, 2000–01: Difference from bedroom standard(1)
		
			  One or more bedrooms per household below the standard  
			 Region Number (thousand) Percentage 
		
		
			 London 178 6 
			 North-west 68 2 
			 West midlands 49 2 
			 East midlands 36 2 
			 East 42 2 
			 South-east 61 2 
			 South-west 35 2 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 33 2 
			 North-east 17 1 
			 England 518 3 
		
	
	(1) 'Bedroom standard' is used as an indicator of occupation density. A standard number of bedrooms is allocated to each household in accordance with its age/sex/marital status composition and the relationship of the members to one another.
	Source:
	Survey of English Housing, DTLR

Gatwick

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what legal agreement exists between the Government and the BAA in respect of an additional runway at Gatwick.

John Spellar: There is no agreement between the Government and BAA plc about an additional runway at Gatwick airport. But there is in place an agreement between the local authority, West Sussex county council, and the then British Airports Authority, which was agreed in August 1979, under the terms of section 52 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1970.

Ports (Policing)

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he has completed his review of the policing of ports; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 7 November 2001, Official Report, column 296W. Work on the review has been delayed by other priority work on security issues, but I hope that the review will be completed by end April.

Ports (Policing)

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many police officers were employed in ports police forces at the most recent date for which figures are available.

David Jamieson: There were 192 port police officers in August 2001.

Ordnance Survey

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on service level agreements between Ordnance Survey and local authorities.

Sally Keeble: The current service level agreement between Ordnance Survey and local authorities took effect on 1 April 1999 and will continue until 31 March 2004. This five year agreement covers a range of organisations including county councils, borough councils, district councils, fire and police authorities and national parks.
	The agreement allows for the provision of both large and small scale mapping to all participating organisations. The benefits of the service level agreement to the local authority community are wide ranging. The agreement provides a vehicle from which local authorities are able to obtain digital and paper mapping with both ease and speed. This has led to the widespread use of Ordnance Survey digital map data across the local government sector for use in their support of the local community. This widespread take up of Ordnance Survey's map data also ensures consistency of use across local government.

Youth Forums

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what effort he has made to encourage the creation of youth forums in each region; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: I have been asked to reply.
	In November 2001 I published "Learning to Listen: Core Principles for the Involvement of Children and Young People". It commits Government Departments to increasing opportunities for children and young people to have a bigger say about policies and services relevant to them across Government and in their communities. Youth forums provide one way to help achieve this.
	Both the Children's Fund and the Connexions Service provide financial and other support to local youth forums. The funding we are making available through the new "Transforming Youth Work Development Fund" will provide additional resources to promote increased participation, help to ensure there is enhanced youth work provision to underpin it, and contribute to our efforts to increase young people's engagement with local democracy.
	The Government also support the initiative being spearheaded by the Local Government Association and the National Youth Agency, "Hear by Right", that fosters the active involvement of children and young people in decision making within their communities.

Child Workers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many child workers were registered with local authorities in each of the last 20 years.

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	Children and young people below the minimum school leaving age wishing to work must obtain permits from their local authority allowing them to do so. Numbers are not collected centrally.

DEFENCE

Public Relations Consultants

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by (a) his Department and (b) bodies for which it is responsible on external public relations consultants in each of the last four years.

Lewis Moonie: This information is not held centrally in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, since 1999–2000, a breakdown of Ministry of Defence's public relations expenditure has been published in the annual departmental performance report, broken down into categories of Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and civilian recruitment, PR, marketing and business support services, Chief of PR, sales promotion, scholarships and National Employers' Liaison Committee.
	Publicity expenditure figures were also published in the 1997–98 departmental performance report but on a slightly different basis.
	Copies of these documents are available in the Library of the House.

Tanzania

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when a judgment was made by the Arms Working Party on the suitability of the sale of the BAE Systems air-traffic control system to Tanzania under the MOD form 680 procedure;
	(2)  when the application for a Tanzanian air traffic control system was considered under the MOD Form 680 procedure; and what the decision was.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 23 January 2002
	Siemens Plessey Electronic Systems (now part of Alenia Marconi Systems) submitted an F680 application in July 1997 for the supply of a radar system to Tanzania. In August 1997 the Government advised the company of preliminary clearance to supply an air-traffic control system to Tanzania subject to certain conditions. Within these conditions, it is routinely made clear to companies that such advice does not constitute an export licence, nor does it guarantee that a licence will be approved for the future export of goods or technology.

Tanzania

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which Government Departments and agencies are represented on the Arms Working Party under the MOD Form 680 procedure;
	(2)  which (a) sections and (b) Departments are represented at the Arms Working Party under the Form 680 procedure; and who has lead responsibility for assessing projects in terms of sustainable development.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 23 January 2002
	The term "Arms Working Party" is colloquially used to describe the F680 process under which informal advice is provided to companies on the prospects for approval at the marketing stage. Advisers consulted include the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Non-Proliferation Department, Geographical Departments, Human Rights Policy Department), the Ministry of Defence (Defence Intelligence, Equipment Security Branch, Headquarters Security Branch) and other Departments and agencies as necessary.

Tanzania

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he was first informed of the views of the World bank about the (a) suitability and (b) cost of the Tanzanian air traffic control system.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 23 January 2002
	I am withholding this information under Exemption 2 (Internal discussion and advice) of Part II of the Government's Code of Practice on access to Government Information.

Royal Marines

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason permission was not sought for Royal Marines to land at Bagram Airport before they arrived.

Geoff Hoon: The deployment of Royal Marines to Bagram was a coalition operation carried out in close consultation with US forces. Appropriate contacts were made with elements of the Northern Alliance.

Strategic Defence Review

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Civil Contingencies Secretariat over the new chapter of the Strategic Defence Review.

Geoff Hoon: Officials from the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, along with those from a number of other Government Departments, are contributing to the Ministry of Defence's continuing work on the new chapter to the Strategic Defence Review.

Tax (Forces Personnel)

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many retired officers and their widows have been identified as incorrectly paying tax on retired pay awarded since 1952 on the grounds of disability attributable to or aggravated by service.

Lewis Moonie: Further to the statement I gave the House on 23 January 2002, Official Report, columns 891–902, the latest available figures are that the Ministry of Defence has identified 967 retired Army personnel and 75 widows of retired Army personnel who are entitled to a refund of tax mistakenly paid on attributable service invaliding pensions. We continue to publicise the error and further cases may emerge.

Afghanistan

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many deaths have been caused by military action in Afghanistan among (a) coalition forces, (b) Taliban forces and (c) civilians since 11 September 2001.

Geoff Hoon: Four US personnel have been killed in action and 17 US personnel have been killed in non-hostile incidents. Regarding Taliban and civilian deaths, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 860W, to my hon. Friends the Members for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) and for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham). It is as difficult to estimate the number of Taliban military casualties as it is to estimate the number of civilian casualties.

Queen's Royal Lancers

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the steps he is taking to improve recruitment to the Queen's Royal Lancers;
	(2)  to what causes he attributes the deficit in the established strength of the Queen's Royal Lancers.

Adam Ingram: I apologise for the fact that, due to a coding error which excluded personnel not recorded against the main Unit Identification Number, eg Rear Party personnel, the establishment and strength of the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps, the information that I gave to the hon. Member in my answer of 24 January 2002, Official Report, column 993W, was incorrect.
	Consequently the current deficit in the Queen's Royal Lancers (QRL), as at 1 December 2001, is 41; not 198 as previously stated.
	In the coming financial year, like other regiments, the QRL will benefit from a package of resources provided by the Army Training and Recruitment Agency's Recruiting Group to assist Regimental Recruiting Teams. This will include the provision of a minibus and recruiting trailer, mobile telephones and computing equipment, as well as funding for travel and marketing expenses.

Army Attributable Pensions

Jack Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the number of Army pensioners who have lost income through the taxation error who are resident in (a) Cumbria and (b) Copeland; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: Information identifying, from among the Army pensioners so far known to have been incorrectly taxed, those resident in Cumbria and Copeland could be provided only at disproportionate cost. We cannot at this time give a reliable estimate for how many new cases may emerge as a result of recent publicity, but we do not believe the numbers will be large.

Exercise Saif Sareea II

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to publish the Lessons Learned report on Exercise Saif Sareea II.

Adam Ingram: The full report on Exercise Saif Sareea is likely to be completed around the end of March. However, we have no plans to make this classified document public.

Royal Armoured Corps

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is (a) the establishment and (b) the actual strength, excluding attached troops, of the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps.

Adam Ingram: pursuant to the reply, 24 January 2002, c. 993W
	Owing to a coding error which excluded personnel not recorded against the main Unit Identification Number, eg Rear Party personnel, the establishment and strength of the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps was incorrect. The correct figures are detailed in the table:
	
		
			 Regiment Establishment Strength 
		
		
			 Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment 324 312 
			 Queens Dragoon Guards 358 384 
			 Scots Dragoon Guards 451 390 
			 9th/12th Royal Lancers 358 354 
			 2 Royal Tank Regiment 460 452 
			 Royal Dragoon Guards 451 459 
			 Household Cavalry Regiment 421 416 
			 Queen's Royal Hussars 451 426 
			 King's Royal Hussars 451 435 
			 Light Dragoons 429 392 
			 Queen's Royal Lancers 451 410 
			 Joint Nuclear Biological and Chemical Regiment 200 196

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Remuneration

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the number of individuals in her (a) Department, (b) related agencies and (c) related non-departmental public bodies whose annual remuneration including benefits in kind exceeded (i) £100,000 and (ii) £200,000 in each of the last four years.

Kim Howells: The number of individuals in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Royal Parks Agency receiving annual remuneration over £100,000 in the last four years is as follows:
	1998: 0
	1999: 1
	2000: 1
	2001: 1.
	No individual received a salary over £200,000 in the last four years. These figures are based on total gross salary. No allowances or bonuses were paid.
	Information on non-departmental public bodies is provided in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies".

Theft and Fraud

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the cost of theft and fraud to (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each of the last four years.

Kim Howells: The available information is given in the table:
	
		£ 
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 DCMS(2) 1,909 0 0 0 
			 Royal Parks Agency 0 0 0 0 
			 Historic Royal Palaces Agency(3) 13,600 — — — 
			 Non-departmental public bodies(4) 417,493 240,530 6,228 79,872 
		
	
	(2) Net of amounts recovered.
	(3) Historic Royal Palaces Agency became an non-departmental public body on 1 April 1998.
	(4) Includes Lottery Bodies

Market Research

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what expenditure has been incurred by her (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each of the last four years on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if she will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each.

Kim Howells: The Department's expenditure on opinion polling, focus groups and other forms of market research for the years in question is shown in the table.
	
		£ 
		
			 Year Opinion polling Focus groups Market research 
		
		
			 1998–99 0 0 0 
			 1999–2000 0 0 0 
			 2000–01 0 0 0 
			 2001–02 (5)36,382 (6)27,320 (7)10,800 
		
	
	(5) (a) Research undertaken that would assess consumers' perceptions of digital television and (b) questions on culture and the internet for Culture Online included in an omnibus survey.
	(6) Eight focus groups with teachers, children and adults for Culture Online.
	(7) An online survey of the use of culture websites of existing users of six cultural websites for Culture Online.
	The Department's agency, the Royal Parks Agency, has not incurred expenditure on opinion polling or focus groups during the years in question. Its expenditure on market research is shown in the table.
	
		£ 
		
			 Year Market research 
		
		
			 1998–99 29,000 
			 1999–2000 30,000 
			 2000–01 30,500 
			 2001–02 41,500 
		
	
	Note:
	The figure for each year covers expenditure on the annual visitor survey, 2001–02 also includes expenditure on monitoring the Kensington Gardens cycle trial.
	Information on expenditure by the Department's non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Empty Properties

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the (a) annual cost and (b) total value of the empty properties owned by (i) her Department, (ii) her agencies and (iii) other public bodies for which she has had responsibility in each of the last four years.

Kim Howells: My Department holds leasehold properties, used for its central London accommodation. There was one instance when such a property was left unoccupied for nine months from February to October 2001, while the lease was being transferred to the Cabinet Office. My estimate of the cost of this is £240,000.
	My Department does not hold information centrally on the properties owned by the other public bodies, for which I am responsible, but I have contacted my agency, the Royal Parks Agency, for more information, and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available, placing a copy of my letter in the Libraries of both houses.

Departmental Sponsorship

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the financial initiatives and resources sponsored by her Department in the last 12 months for Dorset, which are additional to the Government SSA grants.

Kim Howells: My Department and our sponsored NDPBs are responsible for supporting an enormous range of cultural and leisure activity and funding is available from a variety of sources. In some cases it is possible to identify where this funding has been allocated to projects in Dorset but there are grants for the south-west region, and for England as a whole, which it is not possible to disaggregate.
	According to information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the National Lottery awards database a total of £14,428,240 National Lottery funding was distributed to 205 different projects in Dorset during 2001. £3,700,000 of this related to sport and leisure activity and £797,412 to libraries. I am arranging for a full list of Dorset's lottery awards in the last 12 months to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	Resource—The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, has allocated £82,000 to the tank museums in Bovington. In addition Resource has so far this year provided £485,903 to the South West Museums Council which covers the Dorset area. A further £119,379 will be paid next month.

Apsley House

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the details of the proposal for a trust to manage Apsley House and the Wellington Museum referred to on 9 March 2000 by Lord McIntosh of Haringey.

Kim Howells: The Department has considered a number of options for the future management of Apsley House and the Wellington Museum including the establishment of an independent trust. No decisions have been taken in favour of a trust as opposed to any other option. If the Contracting Out Order is approved, the Department will invite tenders from any interested parties.

Apsley House

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whose authority the advertisements for the post of Director of the Wellington Museum Trust, were placed.

Kim Howells: The Wellington Museum Trust is an independent body created to bid for the contract to run the Wellington Museum and to maintain the fabric of Apsley House, provided that the Contracting Out Order currently before Parliament is approved. The advertisement for a director of the trust was discussed with the Department. However, the trust does not require the Department's authority to place an advertisement and the appointment of a director will not require the Department's consent.

Apsley House

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many tenders were received for the future management of Apsley House;
	(2)  when she decided which tender for the management of Apsley House to accept.

Kim Howells: No tenders have yet been invited. These will be sought if the draft Contracting Out Order to be debated in both Houses is approved.

Tourist Boards

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what was (a) the total bill for salaries and expenses for board members, (b) the administrative operating costs and (c) the total annual budget in the latest year for which figures are available for each tourist board in England.

Kim Howells: The 10 regional tourist boards (RTBs) of England are private companies and not public bodies. They are not required to present their financial records to the Government for scrutiny. The English Tourist Council have identified the following financial details based on information provided by the RTB's 2000–01 annual reports.
	
		£ 
		
			  Regional Tourist Board Board members emoluments(8) Executive directors' emoluments(9) Operational expenses(10) Total costs(11) 
		
		
			 Cumbria 0 130,294 n/a 1,574,077 
			 East of England 0 79,138 n/a 2,006,799 
			 London 20,000 91,406 669,126 4,981,111 
			 Heart of England 0 52,270 n/a 2,946,964 
			 Northumbria 0 (12)— 963,146 1,696,614 
			 North West 5,000 (12)— 439,777 3,378,632 
			 South East England 0 65,765 754,129 1,632,227 
			 Southern 0 104,720 605,984 4,190,237 
			 South West 9,000 92,235 n/a 2,612,918 
			 Yorkshire 0 (12)— n/a 4,078,187 
		
	
	(8) Only three RTB's indicate that fees are payed to their chairman and non-executive directors.
	(9) Where separately identified, emoluments for executive directors are recorded. Some boards refer to the executive directors as board members.
	(10) Some RTB's publish an aggregated group expenditure. Others allocate overheads over a range of activities.
	(11) None of the RTB's publish an annual budget in their accounts. Total annual expenditure is shown here.
	(12) For the Northumbria, North West and Yorkshire RTBs, neither the chief executive nor the finance director are listed as a director of the board.
	Note:
	Most RTB's appear to pay an attendance allowance to their board members only if they are not funded by the entity that they are normally employed by. Expenses are not separately identified as they are not considered to be significant.

Museums

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on her policy towards making funds available for (a) the National Tramway Museum and (b) the other six museums which have been designated through her Department as having outstanding collections and which are not in receipt of core funding from central or local sources.

Kim Howells: The National Tramway Museum and six other major independent museums are among the museums and galleries whose collections have been recognised as being of pre-eminent importance under the Designated Museums Scheme. The Designated Museums Challenge Fund, which has provided £15 million for designated museums over the period 1999–2000 to 2001–02, will continue with a further £10 million to be awarded in 2002–03 and 2003–04. Designated Museums will shortly have an opportunity to bid for the first tranche of £5 million.

Children's Television

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the regulation of advertising in relation to children's television programmes.

Kim Howells: Under the UK's broadcasting arrangements, responsibility for what is broadcast on television rests with the broadcasters and the broadcasting regulatory bodies. Television advertising is subject to regulation by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and broadcasters must comply with their codes of advertising standards and practices.
	The general principle governing advertising to children is that, at times when large numbers of children are likely to be viewing, no product or service may be advertised, and no method of advertising may be used, which might result in harm to them physically, mentally or morally; and no method of advertising may be employed which takes advantage of the natural credulity and sense of loyalty of children (regarded as those aged 15 and under).

Broadcasting Licences

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to change the law in respect of ownership of digital broadcast licences by religious broadcasters; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The recent paper "Consultation on Media Ownership Rules" announced that the Government will bring forward legislation to allow religious bodies to hold a local digital sound programme licence. The paper also invited views on whether the restrictions on ownership of other terrestrial licences by religious bodies should be relaxed, and we are currently considering the responses. The Government will publish details of their proposals in the draft Communications Bill which we expect to publish this spring.

Broadcast Revenues (Sport)

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the voluntary code obliging governing bodies of major sports to invest at least 5 per cent. of broadcasting revenues in the grassroots development of their sports; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Government believe that the Central Council of Physical Recreation's Voluntary Code on Broadcasting has been a great success since it was launched in 1996. Governing bodies in cricket, both codes of rugby, and other major sports have signed the code, and many invest rather more than the minimum of 5 per cent. of broadcasting income which it stipulates. Football's investments under the code have been successfully channelled through the Football Foundation since July 2000. The broadcasting provisions of the code apply to all signatories; these safeguard secondary, free- to-air television coverage of many major sports events.

National Lottery

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what procedures are in place to ensure an efficient transfer of lottery funds to the projects to which they have been committed; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: There is no single central procedure designed specifically to facilitate swift transfer of committed funds to projects: this reflects their diversity. Project operators draw down funds from distributing bodies, and distributing bodies from the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF), when they are needed. Much depends on the nature and size of individual projects, the terms on which individual distributing bodies offer grant to particular projects and the arrangements agreed between the distributing body and the project operator. We are, however, considering a number of measures to speed up transfer of NLDF funds to projects.

National Lottery

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had in January with lottery distributors regarding the transfer of lottery funds to the projects to which they have been committed; on what date these discussions took place; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met chairs of the National Lottery distributing bodies on 24 January. The distribution of National Lottery proceeds, and the Government's wish to see the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) balance fall, were agenda items.
	The Department is considering, with the distributing bodies, a range of measures which might facilitate a faster release of the 92 per cent. of NLDF funds that are committed to projects. These include revising financial directions to permit advance payment for low risk projects and, to help applicants get their projects under way more quickly, taking a more flexible approach to partnership funding and providing more funding for project planning.

Listed Places of Worship

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on implementation of the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme.

Kim Howells: holding answer 24 January 2002
	The new grant scheme to assist repairs and maintenance to listed places of worship was launched by Baroness Blackstone on 4 December 2001. Initial estimates are that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme could be worth up to £30 million per year. There is no cap on the scheme; all listed places of worship that meet the criteria will receive a grant. CSL Group Ltd., our appointed contractors for the scheme, will be making the first grant payments to applicants later this month.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliamentary Communications Network

Andrew Turner: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, on how many occasions since 31 August 2001 the PDVN server has been out of action; what defects he has identified; and what action is being taken to rectify such defects.

Michael Fabricant: I have been asked to reply.
	The Parliamentary Data and Video Network (PDVN) consists of interconnected systems hosted on a large number of servers. Since 31 August 2001, the Parliamentary Data and Video Network (PDVN) has suffered three major failures affecting the whole of the network. These occurred on 3 October 2001, 20 November 2001 and 21 November 2001. The PDVN had previously remained stable for 19 months. Subsequent investigation into these failures, which were related, identified saturation and overload of Central Processing Units as an immediate cause. Action was taken to rectify this and other faults. The Parliamentary Communications Directorate (PCD) has since asked the firm responsible for maintaining the PDVN to provide quicker on-site assistance in the event of a major failure. PCD staff have also been trained to respond more swiftly.
	There have been other smaller-scale interruptions to individual services offered on the PDVN since 31 August. Some of these have occurred because of routine maintenance at weekends. If the hon. Gentleman has concerns about a specific service failure, he may like to raise them with the Director of Communications, Mr. Matthew Taylor.

Parliamentary Communications Network

Andrew Turner: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what information he has collated about the time taken to log on to the Parliamentary Communications Network by hon. Members and their staff (a) within the Parliamentary Estate and (b) remotely; what defects he has identified; and what action is being taken to rectify such defects.

Michael Fabricant: I have been asked to reply.
	The Parliamentary Communications Directorate does not routinely collate information on login times. However, poor performance with regard to the length of time it takes to log into the Parliamentary Data and Video Network (PDVN), whether from within the Parliamentary Estate or from elsewhere, will result in an increase in the number of calls to the Parliamentary Communications Helpdesk (extension 2001). Defects are then identified, enabling action to be taken.
	The Citrix service which enables remote access to the PDVN has been enhanced over the past 12 months. Reliability has improved and login times have been reduced. However, if the hon. Gentleman is having difficulties, he might like to raise the matter with the Director of Communications, Mr. Matthew Taylor.

Parliamentary Communications Network

Andrew Turner: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, when he last sought views on its performance from users of the parliamentary communications network.

Michael Fabricant: I have been asked to reply.
	The Information Committee regularly passes on to officials in the Parliamentary Communications Directorate feedback from Members and staff on the performance of the Parliamentary Data and Video Network (PDVN). In December 2001, the committee e-mailed a bulletin to all Members with PDVN accounts, describing issues being considered by the committee. The bulletin was also publicised in the All-Party Whip. A number of Members responded with comments and suggestions, some of which related to the performance of the PDVN. These are actively being taken forward by the committee.

Modernisation

David Drew: To ask the President of the Council if he will propose a mechanism to the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons whereby hon. Members who do not attend select committees other than for personal or health matters are removed after six months and replaced by other hon. Members.

Robin Cook: The Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons is currently considering a range of issues concerning Select Committees, including the matter of attendance. We hope to publish our report shortly.

WALES

KPMG

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what contracts his Department has with KPMG; and what the value is of each one.

Paul Murphy: None.

Environmental Appraisals

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  how many environmental appraisals have been published by his Department since 1 January 2001; and if he will list the last four;
	(2)  how many officials from his Department have attended the Environmental Appraisal and Integration into Policy training course run by the Civil Service College;
	(3)  what procedures his Department has to ensure environmental appraisals are undertaken prior to (a) administrative and (b) policy decisions being made;
	(4)  when the last occasion was on which he requested an environmental appraisal before making a policy decision.

Paul Murphy: holding answer 21 January 2002
	My primary role is to safeguard the devolution settlement for Wales. The development of detailed policies of the kind which require environmental appraisal generally falls either to the National Assembly, or to other Government Departments in the case of non-devolved policy areas. As a consequence, my Department has undertaken no environmental appraisals since it was established on 1 July 1999.
	My officials are aware of the need to subject relevant policies and other decisions to environmental appraisal. In the event of environmental appraisal being required of any Wales Office policy, steps would be taken to ensure that it was undertaken by individuals with the necessary knowledge and skills.

Empty Properties

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his estimate is of the (a) annual cost and (b) total value of the empty properties owned by (i) his Department, (ii) his agencies and (iii) other public bodies for which he has had responsibility in each of the last four years.

Paul Murphy: My Department has had no empty properties since it came into being in July 1999. Nor does it have any agencies or NDPBs. Information in the form requested is not available for before July 1999.

Special Advisers

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the average time is that the Head of his Department has recommended since May 1997 between a special adviser leaving his Department and taking up outside employment; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Prime Minister gave him on 21 January 2002, Official Report, column 593W.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Annual Accounts 2000–01

Tom Levitt: To ask the Solicitor-General when the Treasury Solicitor's Department Agency Annual Accounts 2000–01 will be published.

Harriet Harman: I can confirm that I have today placed a copy of the annual accounts in the Library.

Private Finance Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what the total external spend by her Department was on private finance initiative consultants in each of the last four years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PFI consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by her Department over this period; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: My own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, and the Treasury Solicitor's Department have not employed any private finance initiative consultants in the last four years.
	The total external spend by the Crown Prosecution Service on private finance initiative consultants in each of the last calendar four years was:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1998 0 
			 1999 0 
			 2000 408,204 
			 2001 1,004,367 
		
	
	The Compass project, management for an IT service, is the only private finance initiative that CPS has undertaken and this began in January 2000. The number of full-time equivalent consultants employed was 2.05 in 2000, and 4.42 in 2001.
	The billed consultancy days for each year were:
	
		
			 Year Days 
		
		
			 1998 0 
			 1999 0 
			 2000 450 
			 2001 973 
		
	
	The implied average cost of each PFI consultant was £907 in 2000 and £1,032 in 2001. The Crown Prosecution Service has used seven consultancy firms on this PFI project during this period.
	The CPS employed external consultants on the Compass PFI project where the necessary expertise was not available within its own resources and where best practice was to employ independent external advisers. This approach delivered an effective procurement team, with the necessary skills to deliver a successful procurement on time, on specification and on budget.
	The total external spend by the Serious Fraud Office on private finance initiative consultants in each of the last four tax years was:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1998–99 29,724 
			 1999–2000 76,489 
			 2000–01 194,650 
			 2001–02 0 
		
	
	The total figure of £303,863 was spent on project management, IT, contract, procurement and legal consultancy in relation to the letting of a PFI contract for an IT document management system. Three consultancy bodies were involved, one of which was CCTA. The remaining information requested could be made available only at disproportionate cost.

Ministerial Duties

George Howarth: To ask the Solicitor-General how many times she has refused to meet hon. Members on constituency matters since taking office; and if she will make a statement about the criteria she uses in arriving at such decisions.

Harriet Harman: Since my appointment I have not turned down any requests for meetings with hon. Members on constituency matters.
	I assess requests for meetings with hon. Members on a case by case basis, but generally I would agree to them unless there is a strong reason not to.

Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Solicitor-General how many appointments to outside bodies she has made since her appointment.

Harriet Harman: I have made no such appointments. However the Attorney-General has appointed Mrs. Rosalind Wright CB as Director of the Serious Fraud Office for a further year. This appointment was announced on 18 January 2002.
	Mrs. Wright, whose original contract ends on 21 April 2002, will continue to direct the Serious Fraud Office until 20 April 2003.

Ministerial Visits

Keith Vaz: To ask the Solicitor-General how many (a) CPS areas and (b) legal aid firms she has visited since her appointment.

Harriet Harman: Since my appointment as Solicitor-General I have visited CPS offices in Hampshire, Durham, Nottinghamshire, West Yorkshire and Avon and Somerset and have visited five branches of CPS London. I have not visited any legal aid firms but have had meetings with the Law Society and the Birmingham Law Society.

SCOTLAND

Skye Bridge

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the private money involved in the Skye bridge private finance initiative has been classified as public borrowing; and if she will make a statement.

George Foulkes: Issues relating to the Skye bridge are devolved under the Scotland Act 1998 and now fall within the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. Skye bridge was designed, built, financed and is operated under a PFI contract by Skye Bridge Ltd. (SBL). Under the Concession Agreement, signed in December 1991, SBL invested £28 million (1991 prices), the bulk of which was provided by a combination of commercial bank debt, a European Investment bank loan and index-linked loan stock. This private funding is not classified as public sector borrowing.

Glasgow/Edinburgh Airports (Rail Links)

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what her assessment is of the impact on the Scottish economy of delay in investment in rail links to Glasgow and Edinburgh airports.

George Foulkes: holding answer 21 January 2002
	The development of surface links to airports should be addressed in the context of expected growth in passenger usage at Scotland's airports. The Government, jointly with the Scottish Executive, will shortly publish a consultation document on the development of air services and airports in Scotland. The results of this consultation exercise will feed into the preparation of the Government's White Paper on the future of the United Kingdom's air services and airports for the next 30 years to be published at the end of the year.
	The Government have, with the Strategic Rail Authority and Scottish Executive, sponsored a scoping study into potential improvements in rail access to Scottish airports. These proposals are now being developed through a detailed economic and engineering study, led by the Scottish Executive in partnership with the Government, BAA, Scottish Enterprise, and the SRA. The study is examining options for direct rail links into Glasgow and Edinburgh airports.

Scottish Bus Group Pension Fund

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the answer of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Official Report, 21 January 2002, column 661W, on the Scottish Bus Group Pension Fund, on what dates Scotland Office Ministers discussed the matter of the Scottish Bus Group Pension Fund Holders with Treasury Ministers; and what view the Scotland Office put forward in those discussions.

George Foulkes: holding answer 28 January 2002
	I am in regular contact with Treasury Ministers on a wide range of matters, including the Scottish Transport Group Pension Fund surplus. These discussions are held on a confidential basis.
	I am pleased to note that, following recent discussions between the Treasury and the Scottish Executive, the amount now available for distribution to eligible former pension fund members has increased to £118 million, which I am sure is welcome news to them. It is necessary for the trustees to wind-up the pension schemes before ex-gratia payments can be made to former pension fund members.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

International Whaling Commission

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with the Japanese Foreign Minister over her country's relationship with developing countries at the International Whaling Commission; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the Japanese relationship with developing countries at the International Whaling Commission; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: No discussions have taken place.
	The UK Government would not and could not condone action directly linking overseas aid in exchange for support of any particular whaling policies. At the last annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission, we sponsored a resolution, agreed by consensus, which stressed the importance of transparency and lack of undue interference or coercion from other members within the IWC.

Zoos

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which the treatment of elephants in zoos within the UK is consistent with good practice in animal welfare; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will review the regulations relating to the management of elephants in zoos; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 29 January 2002
	I have no current plans to review the legislation relating to the management of elephants in zoos. The Zoo Licensing Act 1981 makes clear that all animals, including elephants, should be kept in accommodation that is adequate for their proper care and well-being. Zoos are regularly inspected to ensure that that is the case and that all animals are treated in accordance with the guidance on animal welfare set out in the Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice.

Organic Produce

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to encourage suppliers to make greater use of domestically produced organic produce; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what studies she has made of the organic produce and supply industry in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: We have already made considerable support available to encourage conversion to organic farming, which has increased the quantities of UK organic produce available. The action plan for organic farming, which we will be developing with the stakeholders in the light of the recommendations of the Policy Commission, will address the opportunities for UK producers to supply a higher share of the UK market for organic food.

Organic Produce

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the (a) value and (b) proportion of organically grown produce, broken down by category, that was (i) imported and (ii) domestically produced for the UK market in each year since 1990.

Elliot Morley: The best estimates we have are as follows:
	
		Total retail value of UK organic market -- £ million
		
			  2000 2001 
		
		
			 Cereals and bakery products 67 93 
			 Dairy 106 148 
			 Multi-ingredients 97 125 
			 Meat 24 40 
			 Eggs 31 39 
			 Baby food 24 49 
			 Beverages 24 40 
			 Fruit and vegetables 230 268 
		
	
	
		Percentage of UK retail market supplied by UK product
		
			  2000 2001 
		
		
			 Cereals and bakery products 25 20 
			 Dairy 60 65 
			 Multi-ingredients 20 20 
			 Meat 70 55 
			 Eggs 100 90 
			 Baby food 35 50 
			 Beverages 15 20 
			 Fruit and vegetables 15 15 
		
	
	We do not have information for previous years.

Nitrates

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the regions considered at risk from nitrogen pollution of water supplies.

Michael Meacher: All regions of England are potentially at risk from agricultural nitrogen pollution of water supplies. Under the nitrates directive (91/676/EEC) 66 nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs) were originally designated in 1996 for the protection of current drinking water supplies in England from agricultural nitrate pollution. Following a European Court of Justice judgment in 2000, we now need to designate NVZs for the protection of all waters in England. These include surface and groundwaters which could be used as water supplies in the future. The minimum designations are now required to complete implementation of the directive, and on which we are currently consulting, include proposed NVZ areas in every region of England.

Nitrates

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the options proposed in the consultation document "Implementing the Nitrates Directive" on agriculture by region; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Meacher: A regulatory impact assessment of the proposals is included at Annexe E of the consultation document. This includes a compliance cost assessment broken down by agricultural sectors and by the different measures required. However, the assessment was made for England as a whole and there is no regional breakdown available. The tables included in Annexe E of the consultation document are reproduced.
	
		Option 1 (100 per cent. designation): Summary of total compliance costs
		
			 Sector and measure Proportion of farms affected (%) Estimated number of farms affected Total annual cost(13) (£) Average annual cost per farm affected (£) 
		
		
			 Dairy sector 
			 Storage 8 1,810 5,030,000 (14)— 
			 Transport 10 2,210 1,070,000 (14)— 
			  
			 Beef sector 
			 Storage 2 800 290,000 (14)— 
			 Transport 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Sheep sector 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Pig sector 
			 Storage 5 444 1,140,000 (14)— 
			 Transport 100 8,330 3,390,000 (14)— 
			  
			 Poultry sector 
			 Storage 0 (15)n/a 0 0 
			 Transport 100 (15)n/a 1,410,000 (14)— 
			  
			 Record keeping (all sectors) 100 141,000 24,000,000 200 
			 
			 Total   36,320,000  
		
	
	(13) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest £10,000.
	(14) We have not presented the mean average cost here. This would not accurately represent the average cost for a 'typical' farmer in this sector. The vast majority of farms are likely to incur relatively low costs, depending on factors such as the extent of on-farm manure spreading capacity and existing slurry storage facilities. A minority of farms will incur higher costs.
	(15) It is not possible to provide a realistic figure for the number of commercial poultry farms affected from current agricultural census information. Calculations are based on an average-sized commercial poultry unit of 50,000 birds.
	
		Option 2 (80 per cent. designation): Summary of total compliance costs
		
			 Sector and measure Proportion of farms affected (%) Estimated number of farms affected Total annual cost(15) (£) Average annual cost per farm affected (£) 
		
		
			 Dairy sector 
			 Storage 9 1,265 3,660,000 (16)— 
			 Transport 10 1,430 720,000 (16)— 
			  
			 Beef sector 
			 Storage 3 540 180,000 (16)— 
			 Transport 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Sheep sector 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Pig sector 
			 Storage 6 354 1,040,000 (17)— 
			 Transport 100 6,140 2,860,000 (17)— 
			  
			 Poultry sector 
			 Storage 0 (18)n/a 0 0 
			 Transport 100 (18)n/a 1,210,000 (17)— 
			  
			 Record keeping (all sectors) 100 100,000 17,010,000 200 
			 
			 Total   26,670,000  
		
	
	(16) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest £10,000.
	(17) We have not presented the mean average cost here. This would not accurately represent the average cost for a 'typical' farmer in this sector. The vast majority of farms are likely to incur relatively low costs, depending on factors such as the extent of on-farm manure spreading capacity and existing slurry storage facilities. A minority of farms will incur higher costs.
	(18)It is impossible to provide a realistic figure for the number of commercial poultry farms affected from current agricultural census information. Calculations are based on an average-sized commercial poultry unit of 50,000 birds.

Rural White Paper

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 27 November 2001, Official Report, column 859–60W, what proportion of announced funds and schemes was spent, broken down by category, during 2001–02.

Alun Michael: It is not possible to provide the information requested. The financial year to which it refers has not yet ended.

End-of-life Vehicle Directive

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her role is in the implementation of the European end-of-life vehicle directive; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Meacher: The EC directive on end-of-life vehicles (ELV) passed into European law in October 2000. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has the responsibility for developing implementation options for the majority of the provisions in the directive. The Department works very closely with the Department of Trade and Industry on implementation of the directive and leads on the implementation of improved treatment facility standards required under Article 6 and Annexe 1 of the directive.

Waste Recycling

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what percentage of households broken down by (a) government region and (b) constituency have doorstep collections of recyclable waste; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent efforts have been made by (a) central and (b) local government to encourage recycling of (i) household and (ii) commercial/office waste; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what percentage of household waste is recycled in the UK broken down by (a) government region and (b) constituency; which materials are most commonly and least commonly recycled within each of these areas; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Meacher: The following table shows, for each Government region, the percentage of households that have some form of doorstep (kerbside) collections of recyclable waste and the percentage of household waste recycled.
	
		English regions 1999–2000 -- Percentage
		
			 Region Households served by kerbside Household waste recycled 
		
		
			 North East 12 4 
			 North West 35 7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 32 6 
			 East Midlands 55 10 
			 West Midlands 24 9 
			 East 63 14 
			 London 46 10 
			 South East 63 15 
			 South West 58 14 
			  
			 England total 44 10 
		
	
	The estimates in the table are based on information from the DEFRA annual survey of municipal waste management. The information is not available by constituency. The most commonly recycled material in all English regions, by all forms of household recyclable collections is paper and card, which constitutes over 60 per cent. of total recyclable materials. It is not possible to accurately quantify the least commonly recycled material.The Government have set a challenging target to increase the recycling of municipal waste to 25 per cent. of household waste by 2005. To ensure that all local authorities contribute to achieving this target, the Government have set each authority in England statutory performance standards for recycling and composting of household waste. They have also encouraged best value networks and issued guidance on joint municipal waste management strategies.
	We are helping councils deliver their statutory performance standards for recycling and composting through major extra funding from the Spending Review 2000. By 2003–04 revenue support will have risen by £1.1 billion over current provision; there is £220 million for PFI waste schemes over the spending review period; and there is a £140 million ring-fenced fund for waste and recycling over the next two years. £50 million of New Opportunities Fund moneys will also be available over the next two years to support community sector work on recycling in the UK.
	The EC directive on packaging and packaging waste (94/62/EC) has been implemented in the UK by the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997. The directive requires that 50 per cent. of packaging waste, by weight, be recovered by 2001 half of which must be recycled, with a 15 per cent. recycling minimum per material. Much of the material to date has come from the industrial and commercial waste stream.

European Food Safety Authority

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings her officials have had since 1 October 2001 with European Union institutions concerning the establishment of the European Food Safety Authority; and what subjects were discussed.

Elliot Morley: None. The Food Standards Agency took the lead for the UK in negotiations on the European Food Safety Authority.

Foot and Mouth

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has had on holding an independent public inquiry into her Department's handling of the foot and mouth crisis.

Elliot Morley: The Department has continued to receive a number of representations from a variety of sources on this subject—mainly from county, district, borough and parish councils.
	The Department has also received two petitions.

GM Crops

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what compensation is available to organic enterprises whose status is affected by adjacent GM crops.

Michael Meacher: holding answer 24 January 2002
	Liability in respect of any damage from GM crops, including that to organic status, is being addressed at both European and UK levels. The European Commission is developing proposals for an environmental liability regime covering a range of activities, including the release of GMOs.
	In order to minimise any impact from GM crops in the Farm Scale Evaluations (FSEs) on nearby conventional or organic farms, separation distances are used to help ensure that cross-pollination does not exceed 1 per cent. In many cases it will be much lower. We are working with organic sector bodies and the biotechnology and farming industry body, SCIMAC, to ensure that this situation continues in the final year of the evaluations.
	I am also considering whether domestic liability provisions for GM crops might be needed in the light of the Commission's wider proposals. The benefits of a domestic regime might include increased reassurance for the public and nearby farmers, an effective mechanism for correcting environmental damage, and ensuring that producers of GM seeds and growers of GM crops take proper account of their potential impact on non-GM production. In the meantime, an individual who feels they have suffered a loss due to the release of a GMO may be able to commence an action in the courts.

Coastal Erosion

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she is taking to reduce the impact of coastal erosion.

Elliot Morley: We plan to reduce the impact of coastal erosion by investing in coastal defences in the highest risk areas. However as the bulk of expenditure is ultimately met by taxpayers, both DEFRA and the coast protection authorities have a responsibility to ensure that value for money is obtained when funding works.
	This Department provides grants for flood defence and coast protection capital works, and associated studies, which meet essential technical, economic and environmental criteria and achieve an appropriate priority score (based on departmental priorities, urgency and benefit:cost ratio). Further to increases in the last two Spending Reviews, additional funding of £51 million over the four years from 2000–01 was announced in November 2000 following the severe flooding. In all DEFRA flood and coastal defence funding is set to increase from £66 million in 2000–01 to £114 million in 2003–04. Funding for future years will be considered in the Spending Review process. Responsibility for deciding which projects to promote and their timing rests with the operating authorities. The operating authority for each area draws on its local knowledge to decide what needs to be done.

Coastal Erosion

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost of the effects of coastal erosion in the UK in each of the last seven years.

Elliot Morley: This Department has policy responsibility for coastal erosion in England. No estimates have been made of the cost of the effects of coastal erosion for each of the last seven years. However DEFRA commissioned research into a National Appraisal of Assets at Risk from Flooding and Coastal Erosion and the outcome was published in September 2001. This research estimated that the "do nothing" annual average damage was £84.3 million per annum but investment to date had reduced this to £16.6 million per annum.

Rhizomania

Gillian Shephard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many responses were received in the consultation on the future of rhizomania-protected zones which ended on 14 January; and what representations her Ministers have made to the Council of Ministers about rhizomania- protected zones.

Elliot Morley: 459 responses were received. No representations on this issue have been made to the Council of Ministers because, when the rules for protected zones were adopted in 1993, the council gave the Standing Committee on Plant Health the powers to amend the annexes to the plant health directive which provide for protected zone status.

Rodent Control

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will reintroduce the duty under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 for local authorities to notify her Department annually of their activities to control rats and mice; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: There are currently no plans to reintroduce this duty to local authorities.

Rodent Control

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the value of the rodent control industry in (a) England and (b) Wales, with reference to (i) the manufacturing of rodenticides and (ii) the activities of servicing companies in the last five years.

Elliot Morley: We have not made any such estimate of the rodent control industry in England. Rodent control issues in Wales are the responsibility of the National Assembly for Wales.

Energy Efficiency

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the processes and initiatives by which the Government are encouraging the take-up of energy efficient techniques in industry.

Michael Meacher: The climate change levy, a major component of the UK's climate change programme, was introduced on 1 April 2001 to encourage energy efficiency in industry. Climate change agreements with the most energy intensive sectors set challenging targets for reductions in energy consumption in return for an 80 per cent. reduction in the levy. The proceeds of the levy will be recycled to industry through a 0.3 percentage point reduction in national insurance contributions, and also through the provision of funds for the Carbon Trust.
	The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit organisation, set up by the Government and the devolved Administrations to develop a clear framework to encourage the use of low-carbon technologies in the industry sector. The trust will take over management of the Government's Energy Efficiency Best Practice that has been running since 1989 as the UK's main source of energy efficiency information, providing best practice advice and support to organisations in the public and private sectors. The trust will also manage the enhanced capital allowance scheme that gives 100 per cent. first year capital allowances for businesses investing in approved energy saving equipment. Additionally the Carbon Trust will develop a low carbon innovation programme that will support new and emerging low- carbon technologies.
	Combined heat and power is another vital component of the Government's strategy to enhance the energy efficiency of the UK economy. The CHP quality assurance programme assesses "Good Quality" CHP production that is energy efficient in operation. This provides a passport to climate change levy exemptions and other benefits which encourage the take-up of CHP and contribute to the Government's 2010 target of 10,000 megawatts of installed Good Quality CHP.

Vulnerable Household

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people in England wil as a result of long-term sickness or disability, be living in vulnerable households in (a) private accomodation and (b) public sector housing; and what sources of data have been used to calculate these figures.

Brian Wilson: I have been asked to reply.
	The latest source of data for the numbers in fuel poverty is taken from the 1998 Energy Follow Up Survey (EFUS) to the 1996 English House Condition Survey (EHCS), but information is not separately available from the 1998 EFUS split by long-term sickness and disability. However, the latest available information (relating to 1996) on figures for households where the head of household is long-term sick or disabled, is available from the Libraries of the House.

TREASURY

Premature Death

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many adults died prematurely broken down by region, expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage for the latest year for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning how many adults have died prematurely by region expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage for the latest year in which figures are available. (30579)
	The figures requested are given in the table:
	
		Premature deaths(19) of adults(20) by Government office region, -- England(21), 2000(22)Number and percentage
		
			 Government office region Number of deaths Percentage of all deaths at ages 15 and over 
		
		
			 North-east 11,285 40.1 
			 North-west 28,544 38.7 
			 London 22,172 37.9 
			 West Midlands 20,110 37.3 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 18,954 36.6 
			 East Midlands 15,242 36.1 
			 East 17,541 33.1 
			 South-east 25,493 32.0 
			 South-west 16,853 30.5 
		
	
	(19) Premature deaths were classified as those occurring below age 75
	(20) Adults were classified as those aged 15 and over
	(21) Residents only
	(22) Data are for occurrences of death per calendar year
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Mortality Rates

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) infant mortality rates and (b) child mortality rates were in descending order by (i) health authority and (ii) local authority in 2000–01.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the (a) infant mortality rates and (b) child mortality rates were in descending order by (i) health authority and (ii) local authority in 2000–01. (30474)
	Figures are routinely compiled by calendar years. The most recent available figures are for 2000. These have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Manufacturing Industry

John Randall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons were employed in the manufacturing industry in the UK in each of the last five years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Randall, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about how many persons were employed in manufacturing industry in the UK in each of the last five years. (31365)
	I refer you to the answer given in the Official Report No. 80 of 15 January 2002, columns 164–165 to Paul Flynn MP, which gives the requested information.

Manufacturing Industry

John Randall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many redundancies there were in the manufacturing sector in (a) the UK and (b) the Uxbridge constituency in each of the past seven years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Randall, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about redundancies in the manufacturing sector in the United Kingdom and Uxbridge constituency. (31364)
	The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of the numbers of people who have been made redundant from a job in the manufacturing sector in the United Kingdom and in Government Office Regions. However, the LFS does not provide estimates of redundancies for Parliamentary constituencies. the LFS sample size for redundancies in manufacturing in Greater London region is too small to provide reliable estimates.
	The LFS provides estimates of redundancies in the manufacturing sector for each quarter from spring (March to May) 1997. Estimates prior to this are not available on a consistent basis. The estimates for the United Kingdom for each autumn (September to November) quarter from 1997 to 2001 are given in the table overleaf.
	
		Redundancies in the manufacturing sector(23): United Kingdom -- autumn (September to November) quarters 1997–2001(24)
		
			 Autumn Redundancy level (Thousand) Redundancy rate (per 1,000 employees)(25) 
		
		
			 1997 41 8.7 
			 1998 67 13.8 
			 1999 49 10.4 
			 2000 52 11.6 
			 2001 71 16.3 
		
	
	(23) Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1992 Division D: Manufacturing.
	(24) Not seasonally adjusted.
	(25) The redundancy rate is based on the ratio of the redundancy level for the given quarter to the number of employees in the previous quarter, multiplied by 1,000.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

Paid Work

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many adults aged over 25 years were seeking paid work by region expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentages for the latest date for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about adults aged over 25 years seeking work. (30591)
	The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of the number and percentage of people aged over 25 years who are seeking work: that is, people aged over 25 years who are unemployed, as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
	The latest available estimates are for autumn (September to November) 2001. These are given in the table below.
	
		ILO unemployed people(26) aged 25 and over by Government Office Region, autumn (September to November) 2001(27)
		
			  Percentage Thousand 
		
		
			 UK 2.4 953 
			
			 London 3.5 172 
			 North East 3.1 53 
			 Scotland 3.0 104 
			 Northern Ireland 2.8 30 
			 North West 2.4 113 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 2.4 81 
			 West Midlands 2.3 83 
			 Wales 2.1 42 
			 East Midlands 2.1 60 
			 Eastern 1.8 69 
			 South East 1.7 94 
			 South West 1.5 52 
		
	
	(26) ILO unemployed people aged 25 and over as a percentage of all persons aged 25 and over.
	(27) Not seasonally adjusted.
	Source:
	Labour Force Survey

Teen Pregnancy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many conceptions by girls under the age of 16 there were by region (a) expressed as a percentage of under-16s and (b) the total number, in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest year in which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many conceptions to girls under the age of 16 there were by region (a) expressed as a percentage of under 16s and (b) the total number, in descending order according to percentage for the latest year in which figures are available. (30599)
	The figures requested are given in the table below:
	
		Conceptions to girls aged under 16 by Government Office Region (GOR), England, 1999
		
			 GOR Number of conceptions to girls under 16 Girls conceiving under 16(28) as percentage of population 
		
		
			 North East 499 1.00 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 919 0.98 
			 London 1,058 0.89 
			 North West 1,178 0.88 
			 West Midlands 890 0.88 
			 East Midlands 616 0.80 
			 South West 658 0.75 
			 South East 963 0.67 
			 Eastern 627 0.65 
		
	
	(28) The population at risk of conceiving under 16 is conventionally taken to be girls aged 13–15
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Children (Accidental Deaths)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many accidental deaths of children there were broken down by region, expressed by (a) the percentage of population and (b) the total number, in descending order for the latest year for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the number of accidental deaths which occurred to children by region by (a) the percentage of the population and (b) the total number, in descending order for the latest year when figures were available. (30603)
	The figures requested are given in the table below:
	
		Deaths from accidents(29), persons aged 0–15(30) by Government Office Region, England(31), 2000(32) -- Number and rate per 100,000 population(33)
		
			 Government office region Number of deaths Rate per 100,000 population aged 0–15 years 
		
		
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 45 4.4 
			 West Midlands 41 3.7 
			 East Midlands 30 3.6 
			 North West 51 3.6 
			 South West 30 3.2 
			 North East 15 2.9 
			 London 42 2.8 
			 South East 43 2.6 
			 East 27 2.5 
		
	
	(29) International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes E800-E949
	(30) Excludes deaths under 28 days
	(31) Residents only
	(32) Data are for occurrences of death per calendar year
	(33) To facilitate comparison between areas the figures are presented as a rate per 100,000 population resident in the area, rather than as a percentage, because of small numbers of events
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Low Pay

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many adults aged over 25 years were on low rates of pay by region, expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentages for the latest date for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many low paid adults aged 16 to 21 years there are, broken down by region, expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) total numbers, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest date available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions about the number of adults aged 16 to 21 and over 25 on low rates of pay. (30614, 30580).
	The estimated number of jobs in the United Kingdom with pay below National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates in April 2001 was 320,000. Of these, 50,000 relate to 18–21 year olds and 270,000 relate to 22 year olds and over.
	The National Statistics website contains estimates for the numbers and proportions of jobs paid at below NMW rates for Government Office Regions for all persons, however, numbers are suppressed for some regions because of the small size of the estimates. Figures are posted at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/themes/labour_market/ pay_and_earn ings/measuring_low_pay.asp
	No estimates at regional level are available for the age groups requested.

Divorce

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children there were whose parents are divorced by region expressed (a) as a percentage of all children and (b) the total number, in descending order according to percentage for the latest year in which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As Director of the Office of National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on the number of children there were whose parents are divorced by region (a) expressed as a percentage and (b) the total number, in descending order according to percentage for the latest year in which figures are available. (30600).
	Estimated numbers for the United Kingdom for 2000, derived from the Labour Force Survey 1 , are as follows.
	
		Dependent children(33) living in divorced lone parent families(34) -- Thousand
		
			 Government office region/country Number of children Percentage of UK total 
		
		
			 United Kingdom, 2000   
			 North West 118.1 13.7 
			 London 111.4 12.9 
			 South East 105.6 12.2 
			 West Midlands 82.4 9.5 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 80.5 9.3 
			 East of England 69.9 8.1 
			 South West 63.4 7.3 
			 Wales 61.7 7.1 
			 Scotland 55.6 6.4 
			 East Midland 54.3 6.3 
			 North East 44.0 5.1 
			 Northern Ireland 16.6 1.9 
			 United Kingdom 863.5 100 
		
	
	Source:
	Labour Force Survey 2000

Illness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people had a limiting long standing illness or disability by region expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest year in which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the number of people with a limiting long standing illness or disability by region expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest year for which figures are available. (30581)
	The information requested is shown in the attached table.
	
		Persons who reported limiting long standing illness by Government Office Region (a) percentages (b) numbers ranked in descending order -- Great Britain: 2000
		
			 Government office Region/County (a) Percentage reporting limiting long standing illness (b) Number reporting limiting long standing illness (000s) Weighted base (000s) = 100% (total number of people in each region) 
		
		
			 North East 23 652 2,783 
			 Merseyside 23 314 1,342 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 21 1,072 5,113 
			 South West 21 1,022 4,925 
			 Wales 20 584 2,908 
			 North West 20 1,119 5,688 
			 Scotland 19 971 4,999 
			 East Midlands 18 664 3,754 
			 West Midlands 17 891 5,161 
			 East of England 17 858 5,129 
			 London 16 1,143 7,121 
			 South East 16 1,253 7,943 
			 All England 18 8,987 48,960 
			 Great Britain 19 10,542 56,866 
		
	
	Notes:
	Published data from the General Household Survey (Table 7.10 Living in Britain 2000).
	Weighted bases shown here differ slightly from the published table because the published table includes two other measures of self-reported sickness. Bases for each measure differ because of the varying number of "no answers" to each measure. In these instances, the smallest base only is shown.
	Percentages are based on data weighted to compensate for differential non response. The weighted figures give a grossed up population estimate.
	Figures for Scotland and Wales are included in the ranked list, an overall figure for England is given separately.

Unemployment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many young adults aged 16 to 24 years are unemployed by region expressed as (a) a percentage of population and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest date available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployed young adults. (30594)
	The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of the number and percentage of people aged 15–24 years who are unemployed, as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
	The latest available estimates are for autumn (September to November) 2001. These are given in the table below.
	
		ILO unemployed people aged 16–24 by Government office region, -- autumn (September to November) 2001(34)
		
			  Percentage(35) Thousand 
		
		
			 UK 8.9 580 
			
			 Scotland 11.0 63 
			 London 11.0 97 
			 West Midlands 10.9 63 
			 North-east 9.9 29 
			 Wales 9.2 30 
			 North-west 9.0 68 
			 Eastern 8.0 43 
			 Northern Ireland 7.8 16 
			 South-west 7.5 37 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 7.3 41 
			 East Midlands 7.3 33 
			 South-east 7.2 59 
		
	
	(34) Not seasonally adjusted
	(35) ILO unemployed people aged 16–24 as a percentage of all persons aged 16–24
	Source:
	ONS—Labour Force Survey

Unemployment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households were without work for two years or more by region expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentages for the latest date for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about households that have been without work for two years or more. (30590)
	The Labour Force Survey (LFS) household datasets provide estimates of working-age households that have been workless for two years or more: that is, households that include at least one person of working age where everyone has been without work for two years or more.
	The LFS household datasets are available for the spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) quarters of each year. The latest available estimates are for spring (March to May) 2001. These are given in the table below.
	
		Working-age households without work for two years or more(36),(37),(38) by Government office region spring (March to May) 2001(37)
		
			  Percentage(40) Thousand 
		
		
			 UK 11.0 2,060 
			
			 Northern Ireland 16.5 84 
			 Wales 16.2 147 
			 North-east 16.0 131 
			 North-west 13.5 289 
			 Scotland 12.7 216 
			 London 11.9 287 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 11.8 190 
			 West Midlands 11.2 185 
			 East Midlands 9.0 119 
			 South-west 8.4 128 
			 Eastern 7.3 126 
			 South-east 6.4 159 
		
	
	(36) Households that include at least one person of working age (ie a man aged 16–64 or a woman aged 16–59) where everyone has been without work for two years or more.
	(37) Excludes households where everyone of working age is a full-time student.
	(38) Not adjusted for households with unknown economic activity
	(39) Not seasonally adjusted
	(40) Working-age households without work for two years or more as a percentage of all working-age households.
	Source:
	ONS—Labour Force Survey

Household Insurance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households were without household insurance, broken down by region, expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest year in which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question about how many households were without insurance, by region, expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest year in which figures are available. (30612)
	Estimates of households with neither contents nor structural insurance are shown in the table below. They are from the Family Expenditure Surveys of 1999–2000 and 2000–01, combined to improve the reliability of the regional breakdowns.
	Like all estimates from sample surveys these figures are subject to sampling variability.
	
		Households without household insurance by Government office region and UK countries, 1999–2000 to 2000–01 -- Percentages and numbers
		
			   Households without structural or contents insurance  
			  Percentage Number (thousand) 
		
		
			 London 33 1,540 
			 Northern Ireland 30 330 
			 North-east 29 580 
			 North-west 23 1,440 
			 Wales 22 630 
			 Scotland 21 1,100 
			 West Midlands 21 1,090 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 20 1,060 
			 South-east 19 1,750 
			 East Midlands 17 890 
			 South-west 17 1,040 
			 East 16 1,160 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics, Family Expenditure Surveys 1999–2000 and 2000–01.

Workless Households (Children)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children were living in workless households, by region, expressed (a) as a percentage of population and (b) the total number, in descending order according to percentage figures in 2000.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about children in workless households. (30608)
	The Labour Force Survey (LFS) household datasets provide estimates of the number and percentage of children living in workless households; that is, households that include at least one person of working age with no one in employment.
	The estimates for spring (March to May) 2000 are given in the table below.
	
		Children(41) in workless households(42),(43) by Government Office Region; spring (March to May 2000); not seasonally adjusted
		
			  Per cent(44) Thousand 
		
		
			 United Kingdom 16.0 1,867 
			
			 London 23.7 353 
			 North East 21.8 115 
			 Northern Ireland 20.1 76 
			 Wales 19.5 116 
			 North West 18.4 261 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 18.0 178 
			 Scotland 16.7 151 
			 West Midlands 16.1 170 
			 East Midlands 12.4 98 
			 East 10.6 111 
			 South West 10.5 96 
			 South East 9.2 143 
		
	
	(41) Children refers to all children under 16.
	(42) Households that include at least one person of working age (i.e. a man aged 16–64 or a woman aged 16–59) where no one is in employment.
	(43) Not adjusted for households with unknown economic activity.
	(44) Children in workless households as a percentage of all children in working-age households.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

Suicides

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides there were by young people aged 15 to 24 years by sex and by region expressed as (a) percentage figures and (b) total number, ranked in descending order of totals, expressed in percentage terms for the latest year in which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the number of suicides by young people aged 15–24 years by sex and by region in (a) percentage figures and (b) total number, ranked in descending order of totals, expressed in percentage terms for the latest year for which figures are available. (30596)
	The figures requested are given in the attached tables.
	
		Deaths from suicide(43) in the age group 15–24, males by Government Office Region, England(44), 2000(45) -- Number and rate per 100,000 population(46)
		
			 Government Office Region Number of deaths Rate per 100,000 males aged 15–24 
		
		
			 West Midlands 53 16.0 
			 East Midlands 40 15.5 
			 North West 64 15.0 
			 South West 39 13.5 
			 East 37 12.0 
			 North East 19 11.4 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 33 10.1 
			 South East 46 9.8 
			 London 39 7.7 
		
	
	
		Deaths from suicide(45) in the age group 15–24, females by Government Office Region, England(46), 2000(47) -- Number and rate per 100,000 population(48)
		
			 Government Office Region Number of deaths Rate per 100,000 females aged 15–24 
		
		
			 South West 14 5.2 
			 South East 22 4.9 
			 West Midlands 13 4.2 
			 North East 6 3.8 
			 North West 15 3.7 
			 East 8 2.8 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 8 2.6 
			 London 11 2.3 
			 East Midlands 3 1.2 
		
	
	(45) International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes E950-E959 and E980-E989 excluding E988.8.
	(46) Residents only.
	(47) Data are for occurrences of death per calendar year.
	(48) To facilitate comparison between areas the figures are presented as a rate per 100,000 population resident in the area, rather than as a percentage, because of small numbers of events.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Pensioners (Telephones)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pensioners do not have a telephone, broken down by region expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest year in which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on numbers of pensioners that do not have a phone by region. (30587)
	Estimates of pensioner households without a telephone by region are shown in the attached table. They are from the three most recent years of the Family Expenditure Survey, 1998–99 to 2000–01, combined to improve the reliability of the regional breakdowns of this group. Pensioner households have been defined as those with a retired head.
	Like all estimates from sample surveys these figures are subject to sampling variability. This is greater for estimates of a sub-group such as pensioner households than for all households.
	
		Pensioner households without telephone by Government office region and UK countries: 1998–99 to 2000–01
		
			  Households without telephone  
			  Percentage Number (Thousand) 
		
		
			 North East 7 18 
			 Northern Ireland 6 8 
			 East Midlands 5 17 
			 North West 4 28 
			 Scotland 4 21 
			 West Midlands 4 19 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4 16 
			 South West 3 16 
			 East 3 17 
			 Wales 3 8 
			 London 2 14 
			 South East 2 17 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics, Family Expenditure Surveys 1999–2000 and 2000–01.

Young Adults

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many young adults there are aged 16 to 18 years who are not in education, training or work by region, expressed as (a) a percentage of the population and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest date available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter for Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about young adults who are not in education, training or employment. (30598)
	The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of the number and percentage of people aged 16–18 years who are not in education, training or employment. The latest available estimates are for autumn (September to November) 2001. These are given in the table below.
	
		People aged 16–18 who are not in education, training or work by Government Office Region Autumn (September to November) 2001 -- (not seasonally adjusted)
		
			  Percentage(49) Thousand 
		
		
			 UK 12.0 264 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 16.3 32 
			 Scotland 15.2 30 
			 North West 14.0 39 
			 Wales 13.8 15 
			 North East 13.3 13 
			 London 12.5 29 
			 West Midlands 12.3 26 
			 South East 11.0 31 
			 Eastern 9.3 18 
			 East Midlands 9.3 14 
			 South West 7.0 12 
			 Northern Ireland (50)— (50)— 
		
	
	(49) Sample size too small for reliable estimate.
	(50) People aged 16–18 who are not in education, training or work as a percentage of all persons aged 16–18.
	Source:
	ONS—Labour Force Survey.

Babies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many low birthweight babies there were by region by (a) percentage of population and (b) total number, in descending order in the year when figures were last available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many low birthweight babies there were by region by (a) percentage of population and (b) total number, in descending order, in the most recent year for which figures are available. (30604)
	The figures requested are given in the table below.
	
		Low birthweight babies(51) by Government Office Region, England(52), 2000(53)
		
			 Government Office Region Number of low birthweight babies Percentage of all live births 
		
		
			 West Midlands 5,156 8.4 
			 London 8,506 8.2 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 4,505 8.1 
			 North West 6,020 7.9 
			 East Midlands 3,568 7.8 
			 North East 2,053 7.8 
			 East 4,153 6.8 
			 South East 6,090 6.7 
			 South West 3,301 6.6 
		
	
	(51) Population at risk is taken to be the total number of live births with a stated birthweight, and is used to calculate the percentage of low birthweight babies (ie under 2,500 grams).
	(52) Residents only.
	(53) Data are for occurrences of births per calendar year.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics.

Inland Revenue

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average turnover of companies with limited status in the UK, as reported to the Inland Revenue, in the last year for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the average turnover of companies from information held centrally by the Inland Revenue. However, relevant information on the numbers and turnover of companies and public corporations can be found in Table 6 of the Department of Trade and Industry Small Business Service publication "Small and Medium- Sized Enterprise Statistics for the UK 2000" which is located at: www.sbs.gov.uk/content/statistics/stats2000.pdf.

London Weighting

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on London weighting in the public sector in the 2001–02 financial year.

Andrew Smith: We do not keep this information centrally. The payment of London weighting is a matter for individual public sector employers.

Public Sector Pay

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on regional allowances to supplement public sector pay in the south-east, excluding London, in the 2001–02 financial year.

Andrew Smith: We do not keep this information centrally. The payment of regional allowances is a matter for individual public sector employers.

Regional Allowances

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of total expenditure on public sector pay is taken up by regional allowances.

Andrew Smith: We do not keep this information centrally. The payment of regional allowances is a matter for individual public sector employers.

Limited Companies

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average profitability of companies with limited status in the UK, as reported to the Inland Revenue, in the last year for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: It is not possible to measure average company profitability from the tax assessment information which the Inland Revenue holds centrally. But figures on the profitability of UK companies for the third quarter of 2001 from the latest National Statistics press release can be found at www.statistics.gov.uk/ pdfdir/puc0102.pdf

Euro

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 17 January 2002, Official Report, column 438W, on the euro, for what reason he was not able to indicate the number of officials involved in the preliminary technical work for euro preparations; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him yesterday.

Building Programme

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Government Departments operate a system of retention in their building programme.

Andrew Smith: Treasury does not collect data on which Departments do or do not operate a system of retention in their building programmes. This is a matter for individual Government Departments.
	The Achieving Excellence in Construction initiative, led by the Office of Government Commerce, is placing greater emphasis on team working and value for money procurement strategies and is encouraging central Government construction clients to use partnering and long-term commercial agreements with suppliers to reduce the need for retentions in the future.

Railtrack

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Buckingham of 19 November 2001, Official Report, columns 143–44W, on meetings regarding Railtrack, under what section of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information he did not provide the information requested.

Andrew Smith: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 520W.

Credit Institutions

Ross Cranston: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which amendments to UK law (a) have been made and (b) are necessary to comply with Directive 2001/24/EC of 4 April 2001 on the reorganisation and winding-up of credit institutions; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The task of identifying all the relevant provisions of UK law that require amendment, in order to implement the directive by May 2004, has not yet been completed. In the circumstances, no amendments to UK law have been made so far.

KPMG

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contracts his Department has with KPMG; and what the value is of each one.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury has no current contracts with KPMG.

Large-scale Projects

Tony McWalter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the instruments available for the financing of large-scale projects where returns are unlikely to be made within at least a decade.

Andrew Smith: The criterion for assessing the effectiveness of investment in projects is whether value for money is secured. The Treasury's guidance on project appraisal—the "Green Book"—is aimed to help Departments achieve this objective. Departments have set out their investment plans in "Departmental Investment Strategies" published in July 2000.

Listed Buildings

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to press for the establishment of a differential rate for VAT for repairs and renovations to listed buildings in the European Commission review of reduced rates of VAT.

Paul Boateng: EC law already allows a reduced rate of VAT for works to housing. It does not permit a reduced rate for works to other types of building, whether listed or not. However, in response to representations made by the Government, the European Commission has indicated that it will consider a reduced rate of VAT for listed places of worship in their general review of the reduced rates, which is due to take place in 2003.

Private Finance Initiative

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent studies his Department has undertaken of the management costs of PPPs relative to conventionally procured public sector projects.

Andrew Smith: It is the responsibility of Departments to account for the management of their programmes and projects. However the Treasury has instituted a number of reforms since 1997 to improve acquisition of services through all forms of procurement, notably through setting up the Office of Government Commerce. In the area of PFI, the reforms following the two Bates reports, including guidance on standard contract terms and conditions and the establishment of Partnerships UK, together with experience gained in both public and private sectors, are believed to have resulted in reduced procurement costs.

Public Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the value of public sector capital expenditure, including capital grants to the private sector, as a proportion of GDP in each of the last four years.

Andrew Smith: Figures for public sector net capital expenditure as a proportion of GDP are given in Table B23 on page 195 of the November 2001 pre-Budget report (Cm 5318).

Customs Officials

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Customs officials have been based at Newhaven in each year from 1987 to date.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 9 January 2002
	Increased flexibility, mobility and use of information technology means that numbers of Customs staff based at a location is not a valid indicator of Customs activity.
	Precise figures for each year are not available following a series of structural changes and variations in the way in which levels of resource deployed are measured.
	
		Estimated figures for Newhaven
		
			 Year Estimated staff 
		
		
			 1990 124 
			 1993 82 
			 1995 60 
			 1999 45 
			 2000 30 
			 2001 26 
			 2002 15

Duty Free Allowance

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to raise the per person duty free allowance on gifts and other goods purchased in non-EU countries and then brought to the UK.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 28 January 2002
	The duty free allowances are set out in Council directive 69/169/EEC. Member states revalorise the monetary limit on goods, depending on shifts in the value of the euro. There is no case for a review at this time.

Customs and Excise (Northern Ireland)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been recruited to work within Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years.

Paul Boateng: The information is given by financial year.
	
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 2001(54) 74 
			 2000–01 108 
			 1999–2000 11 
			 1998–99 8 
			 1997–98 34 
			 1996–97 40 
		
	
	(54) 1 April to date

Customs and Excise (Northern Ireland)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been promoted in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and how many years each person promoted had (a) served at their previous grade and (b) worked in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.

Paul Boateng: 211 promotions and regradings with enhanced responsibilities took place in Customs and Excise in Northern Ireland between 1997 and 2001. In some instances staff were promoted or regraded more than once.
	In accordance with Exemption 8 of the "Code of Practice on Access to Government Information", it would be inappropriate to provide the analysis sought of promotees previous service as this information would enable members of staff to be identified.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Ian Stillman

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations his Department has made concerning the continued imprisonment of Ian Stillman in India; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Ian Stillman was arrested on 28 August 2000, alleged to be in possession of 20 kg and 300 g of cannabis resin. On 2 June 2001 he was sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment.
	Mr. Stillman appealed against this conviction at the High Court, but on 11 January this appeal was turned down. It is for Mr. Stillman's lawyers to appeal to the Supreme Court. We understand that no decision as to whether to appeal to the Supreme Court has yet been made by Mr. Stillman's lawyers.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and British high commission in New Delhi have made many high- level representations to the Indian authorities regarding Mr. Stillman. The most recent of these was a meeting between the British high commissioner in New Delhi and the Indian Home Minister on 2 January 2002. This case has also been raised at various times by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary. We will continue to raise the case at appropriate opportunities if Mr. Stillman decides to appeal to the Supreme Court. We will also continue to monitor his welfare while in jail and ensure that his special needs are catered for.

War Against Terrorism

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy on extending the war against terrorism to countries other than Afghanistan.

Ben Bradshaw: Our aim is to eliminate the global threat posed by al-Qaeda and other international terrorist groups. We will take the action we deem necessary in support of this objective. We are working in a number of fora, including the UN, the EU, G8, NATO and the Commonwealth, to ensure an appropriate international response to the threat of terrorism. We are also stepping up our support to countries which oppose terrorist activity, but lack the means to prevent it.

Guantanamo Base

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who comprises the British team visiting British citizens who are being held by the US at the Guantanamo base in Cuba.

Ben Bradshaw: The British team consisted of officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Security Service. Under Exemptions 1a and 15 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, I am unable to publish the names of the officials.

Afghanistan

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on what consulting assistance the UK is providing to the interim Afghanistan Government in implementing democratic processes.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government fully support the Bonn agreement and its aim to establish a broadly based, representative and democratic government in Afghanistan. We have pledged approximately £2 million in immediate assistance to the Afghan Interim Administration to support them in their efforts to implement the democratic processes outlined in the agreement.
	The UN-led political process is central to this effort. We have also given £1 million in assistance to support the office of the UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Afghanistan, Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi.

Gibraltar

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Government initiated the current round of talks on the future status of Gibraltar under the terms of the Brussels Process.

Peter Hain: The Brussels Process was established in 1984 by the Government of Lady Thatcher. During the debate on the Queen's Speech on 22 June 2001, Official Report, column 284, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced the continuation of the Brussels Process.

Gibraltar

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions have taken place with Spain on air safety on flights to Gibraltar.

Peter Hain: holding answer 28 January 2002
	We have had regular discussions with the Spanish Government on a range of issues under the Brussels Process, including aviation security.
	I also refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Jones) on 1 November 2001, Official Report, column 811W.

Gibraltar

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the creation of a joint Anglo/Spanish body with responsibility for (a) judicial issues concerning Gibraltar and (b) issues concerning the defence of Gibraltar are being discussed under the Brussels Process of talks regarding the future of Gibraltar.

Peter Hain: holding answer 28 January 2002
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on 6 November 2001, Official Report, column 122W.

Pakistan

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the staffing levels in the British Consulate offices in Pakistan will be returned to the levels which existed prior to 11 September 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Staffing at the British high commission in Islamabad, the Deputy high commission in Karachi and the British high commission visa and consular office in Lahore has almost returned to the levels prior to 11 September. There are, however, three entry clearance vacancies in Islamabad and Karachi and two in Lahore. We are endeavouring to fill these vacancies as soon as possible. As from 7 January all three posts have been operating a staged return to normal service. Islamabad and Lahore are expected to resume a full service on 4 February and Karachi shortly thereafter.
	The number of staff providing consular assistance has remained the same since 11 September.

Colombia

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the links between the Colombian army and paramilitary organisations in Colombia; what recent discussions he has had with the US Administration about these links; what support the UK Government give to (a) Colombia and (b) Plan Colombia; whether such support is conditional on the termination of links between the authorities and paramilitaries; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: Allegations of collusion between the Colombian army and the paramilitaries remain a serious concern and recent reports by the United Nations and human rights groups have been critical of the Colombian Government's failure to tackle the problem effectively. In January 2001, the Colombian Government set up a financial task force to investigate, seize and disrupt the funding of paramilitary groups, and a special military unit was created to tackle them. But much remains to be done; laws need to be implemented, weak institutions strengthened, alleged military-paramilitary links investigated and, where proven to exist, terminated.
	We continue to have extensive discussions with the US Administration about developments in Colombia, including the paramilitary problem. The US designated the main Colombian paramilitary organisation, the United Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC), as a terrorist organisation in September last year. In November, HM Treasury, in co-ordination with US authorities, circulated a list of 25 terrorist organisations (including the AUC) to financial institutions requiring that their assets be frozen.
	The UK assists Colombia both bilaterally and via the EU and the UN. The EU aid package for Colombia to which the UK is contributing will support human rights and social and economic measures, including alternative development. I announced a further bilateral contribution of £120,000 to the UN Human Rights Office in Bogota; on 23 January. Britain has also provided training for Colombia's anti-narcotic police and customs officers. The UK has made no financial contribution to Plan Colombia, either bilaterally or via the EU.
	Neither the UK nor the EU has tied its aid to specific conditions. Cutting off aid would only hurt the poorest and most vulnerable communities in Colombia.

International Criminal Court

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the USA to encourage them to accede to the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court.

Denis MacShane: holding answer 29 January 2002
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had occasion to discuss this issue recently with members of the US Administration. However, it is frequently discussed between officials and has been the subject of EU presidency demarches in Washington on 30 October and 20 December 2001, in pursuance of the EU Common Position on the ICC.

European Union Business

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list (a) the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union for February and (b) the major European Union events for the period between 31 February and July.

Peter Hain: The following is the information:
	12 February—ECOFIN meeting—Brussels
	1. Adoption of Agenda
	2. Approval of list of "A" items
	3. Preparation for the European Council in Barcelona
	Commission report on the functioning of product and capital markets (cardiff report)
	(poss.) Report on increasing employment levels and prolonging working life
	Broad economic policy guidelines
	= policy debate (on basis of, among other things, the Commission's summary report and contributions from other Councils)
	4. Stability and growth pact
	Examination of updated stability and convergence programmes
	5. (poss.) Update on the euro changeover
	6. Commission report on globalisation: challenges and responses
	7. Indirect taxation
	VAT: Electronic commerce
	8. Progress report on the procedures for the ratification of the Council Decision of 29 September 2000 on the system of own resources (OJ L 253, 7.10.2000, p42)
	9. Other business
	6/7—Valladolid—Ministerial Seminar on Democracy and Development
	9/10—Brussels—Gymnich (Ministerial Informal)
	11—Brussels—Eurogroup (Evening)
	14—Brussels—Education and Youth Council
	14/15—Brussels—Justice and Home Affairs Council (Ministerial Informal)
	18/19—Brussels—General Affairs Council
	18/19—Brussels—Agriculture Council
	22/23—Brussels—Telecoms and Information Society Council (Ministerial Informal)
	28—Brussels—Justice and Home Affairs Council
	28—Brussels—Inaugural meeting of the Convention on the Future of Europe.
	The following are the principal events in the EU between 1 March and July 2002 (certain relevant events are also included: the list is based on the information available at the date of issue).
	
		
			 March Venue Event 
		
		
			 1 Brussels Justice and Home Affairs Council (Evening) 
			 1 Brussels Internal Market, Consumers and Tourism Council 
			 4 Brussels Eurogroup (Evening) 
			 4 Brussels Environment Council 
			 5 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 7 Brussels Employment and Social Affairs Council 
			 11 Brussels Research Council 
			 11–12 Brussels General Affairs Council 
			 15–16 Barcelona European Council 
			 18 Toledo Trade Ministers Meeting (Ministerial Informal) 
			 18 Toledo EUROMED Trade Ministers Meeting 
			 18–19 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 23–24 Brussels Defence Ministers Meeting (Ministerial Informal) 
			 25–26 Brussels Transport and Telecom Council 
			 27–28 Monterrey, Mexico Financing and Development Conference 
			
			 April   
			 5–6 Luxembourg Migrations Council (ASEM Ministerial Informal) 
			 8 Luxembourg Fisheries Council 
			 13–14 Luxembourg ECOFIN (Ministerial Informal) 
			 15–16 Luxembourg General Affairs Council 
			 22–23 Valencia Euromed Conference 
			 22–23 Luxembourg Agriculture Council 
			
			 May   
			 25–26 Luxembourg Justice and Home Affairs Council 
			 27–30 Luxembourg Agriculture Council (Ministerial Informal) 
			 3–4 Brussels Tourism Council (Ministerial Informal) 
			 6 Brussels Eurogroup (Evening) 
			 7 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 9  Europe Day 
			 13 Brussels General Affairs Council and Defence Ministers meeting 
			 17–18 Madrid EU-Latin America and Caribbean Summit 
			 21 Brussels Internal Market, Consumers and Tourism Council 
			 23 Brussels Culture and Audio-visual Council 
			 24–26 Brussels Environment Council (Ministerial Informal) 
			 27–28 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 30 Brussels Development Council 
			 30 Brussels Education and Youth Council 
			 31–1 June Brussels Transport Council (Ministerial Informal) 
			
			 June   
			 3 Brussels Employment and Social Affairs Council 
			 3 Brussels Eurogroup (Evening) 
			 4 Luxembourg ECOFIN 
			 6–8 Brussels Foreign Affairs Council (ASEM Ministers) 
			 6–7 Brussels Industry and Energy Council 
			 10–11 Brussels General Affairs Council 
			 10–11 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 11 Brussels Fisheries Council 
			
			 June   
			 13–14 Brussels Justice and Home Affairs Council 
			 17–18 Brussels Transport and Telecoms Council 
			 17–18 Brussels General Affairs Council 
			 21–22 Seville European Council 
			 24 Brussels General Affairs Council (possible) 
			 24–25 Brussels Environment Council 
			 25 Luxembourg ECOFIN 
			 26 Brussels Health Council 
			 July   
			 6 Copenhagen ASEM Ministers for Finance 
			 12 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 12–13 Kolding Meeting of Employment and Social Policy Ministers (Informal) 
			 15–16 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 19 Brussels Budget Meeting 
			 19–21 Arhus Environment Ministers meeting (Informal) 
			 22–23 Brussels General Affairs Council

Special Operations Executive

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what continuing role there will be for the Special Operations Executive Adviser on the transfer of the remaining SOE files to the Public Record Office.

Jack Straw: The process involved in the final stages of preparing the SOE personal files for release to the PRO mean that it is no longer practicable for the SOE adviser to deal satisfactorily with inquiries relating to those files.
	There being no further series of files for review and release, the SOE adviser will cease to have a function. From 15 February 2002, therefore, no further inquiries will be accepted by his office, which itself will close on 31 March 2002. With the transfer of the remaining personal files at the end of the year, public inquiries for access should be directed to the PRO.

Special Operations Executive

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to release more records of the wartime Special Operations Executive.

Jack Straw: The records of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) have been released progressively since 1993. The next batch of records, covering the General and Headquarters (including America) files, has been transferred to the Public Records Office, and will be opened on 8 February 2002. The last batch of SOE records (the personal files) should be transferred around the end of 2002.

Arms Exports (Azerbaijan)

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Kingdom will continue to uphold the OSCE embargo on the export of weapons and military equipment to Azerbaijan.

Peter Hain: The UK remains committed to the OSCE arms embargo against both Azerbaijan and Armenia, which the UK interprets as covering all goods and technology controlled under entries in Part III of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 (commonly known as the military list).
	In March 2000 the Government approved a similar request for protective jackets for demining operations to Azerbaijan, a continuing problem.
	While the grant of this licence constitutes an exception to the UK's interpretation of the scope of the embargo, it is in no way inconsistent with the purpose of the embargo and our continuing commitment to uphold it.

Georgia

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Government of Georgia regarding political development in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The last ministerial contacts were at the OSCE Ministerial meeting in Bucharest on 3 and 4 December when the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr. McShane) met the Georgian Foreign Minister; the Minister for Europe also met the Foreign Minister in London on 12 September.
	A senior FCO official visited Georgia from 22 to 24 January and held discussions on a wide range of issues with the Georgian Government. The Deputy Foreign Minister is coming to London for Political/Military discussions on 6 and 7 February. We will continue to support democracy and development in Georgia and assist the Georgian Government to build on the reforms they have stated.

Zimbabwe

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the compliance by the Zimbabwe Government with the Abuja Agreement.

Denis MacShane: The Abuja text sets out clear benchmarks on the rule of law, ending political violence and intimidation and promoting basic human rights. The Government of Zimbabwe has paid scant regard to the commitments.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

"Your Guide"

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the trial of "Your Guide" in post offices in Leicestershire will continue after the end of March.

Brian Wilson: The six month pilot continues to schedule and will be withdrawn as planned on 1 March 2002. This allows complete focus on the detailed evaluation report and business case which will determine whether the service will be rolled out nationally. Work is already under way to plan for national roll-out so that in the event of a successful outcome rapid progress can be made.

"Your Guide"

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initial assessment she has made of the trial of "Your Guide" in post offices in Leicestershire since October 2001.

Brian Wilson: No formal assessment has yet been made of the trial. The outcome of the pilot will be fully evaluated by the Post Office, by those organisations participating in the pilot, and by the Government participating as a whole. The pilot ends on 1 March. The full evaluation report is expected in June.

"Your Guide"

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what publicity has been given to the trial of "Your Guide" in post offices in Leicestershire since October 2001.

Brian Wilson: Operational management of the pilot project is a matter for Post Office Limited. I understand that since its inception in August 2001, the trial has been publicised by means of paid advertisements and editorial features in the local newspapers and radio. Leaflets have been distributed through a variety of channels including doctors surgeries and social security offices and presentations have been made to a variety of local groups. The publicity has continued since October 2001 with material adapted to include case studies and quotations from users of the service. A leaflet drop directly to households is planned for later in January.

Terrorist Attacks

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions since 11 September she has met the Director of the Office of Civil Nuclear Security to discuss the readiness of nuclear installations against attack.

Brian Wilson: None. I have considered advice, including advice from the Director of Civil Nuclear Security, on the security of civil nuclear installations in the light of the events of 11 September.

BAE

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what outstanding financial commitments BAE has to Government agencies.

Brian Wilson: All previous Launch Investment contracts with BAE Systems have been transferred to Airbus UK. These contracts provide for the repayment of Launch Investment with a rate of return in the form of levies on sales of the products developed. BAES no longer has such commitments to the Department of Trade and Industry. Comprehensive information on BAE Systems' outstanding commitments to the Government cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.

Arms Sales

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from BAE Systems concerning the sale of arms to (a) South Africa and (b) India.

Brian Wilson: The promotion of any legitimate UK defence exports, in co-ordination with industry, is the responsibility of the Defence Export Services Organisation of the Ministry of Defence.

Electricity Generation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what evidence she has collated on the impact on conversion efficiency of generation of electricity on a small localised scale.

Brian Wilson: The Department publishes conversion efficiencies for power stations operated by major power producers in Table 5.9 of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics. Efficiencies of CHP systems are given in Table 6A of the Digest and electrical efficiencies within CHP systems can be calculated from the data in Table 6.8. Conversion efficiencies of electricity from biofuels, onshore wind and hydro can be calculated from data given in Chapter 7; by convention, energy inputs to wind and hydro are equivalent to the electricity produced.

Electricity Generation

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average cost is per kilo-watt hour of (a) onshore wind, (b) gas-fired, (c) nuclear and (d) hydro-electric-generated electricity.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 25 January 2002
	The Department published estimates of the cost of gas- fired generation in the 1998 White Paper (Cm 4071, paragraph 5.38).
	The last study of nuclear costs was published in 1995 and indicated that generation costs would be around 3.9p/kWh. Since then nuclear generators have produced generation cost estimates for new designs of around 2.6p/kWh.
	Estimates of the cost of renewables technologies are contained in a report by the Energy Technology Support Unit (New and Renewables Energy Prospects in the 21st Century: Supporting Analysis) published in March 1999. This report is available in the Library of the House.
	The Department has also contributed to the work of the energy review being undertaken by the Performance and Innovation Unit at the Cabinet Office, which has looked at the cost of new nuclear generation. A copy of their paper which covers estimates for a range of generation technologies (including onshore wind) can be found at: http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/innovation/2001/energy/ 2050.pdf.
	The full PIU report is expected to be published shortly.

BNFL Inc 1998 Annual Report

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will place copies of BNFL Inc's 1998 annual report in the Library.

Brian Wilson: No. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 November 2001, Official Report, columns 163–64W.

Nuclear Power Stations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many nuclear power stations are to be (a) constructed, (b) modernised and (c) closed under the Energy Review.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 21 January 2002
	The Energy Review team has now completed its work and I submitted the PIU report to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister at the end of December. It is for Ministers collectively to determine next steps on the report, including publication arrangements. It would not be appropriate to speculate on the content of the report in advance of publication.

Energy Providers

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received about energy providers poaching domestic customers from other companies; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: I have received a large number of representations about domestic gas and electricity competition. A competitive market requires consumers to have access to offers from a number of suppliers, to be able to compare those offers and to be able to transfer between suppliers to make financial savings or gain improved service. It is also entirely legitimate that suppliers should promote their offers. The vast majority of contracts between suppliers and consumers are carried out in an appropriate manner, to the advantage of both. Since competition was fully introduced 14 million customers have benefited from greater choice and reduced energy prices by switching suppliers, and new entrants have been able to join the market.
	It is important that consumers have confidence in the competitive market, and that problems that serve to weaken that market and cause distress to consumers be addressed. The problems raised in the representations made to me chiefly surround the erroneous transfer of gas and electricity supply, whether by administrative or data error or dishonest sales practice. It is the responsibility of the industry regulator, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), to oversee competition as a whole, and to monitor and address suppliers' performance and compliance with the range of statutory and regulatory instruments.
	To reduce erroneous transfers, Ofgem and the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council—Energywatch—have developed the Erroneous Transfer Customer Charter. All domestic gas and electricity suppliers have accepted this charter, which came into force on 1 January. The charter should ensure that consumers transferred in error are restored to their original supplier swiftly, and with the minimum of inconvenience. Ofgem will review the industry's response to the charter in August 2002. If it feels that the response has been inadequate, or that insufficient progress has been made, it will consider the use of regulatory measures. These include the imposition of standards of performance (which can carry requirements for automatic compensation) and the modification of supply licence conditions. Ofgem will shortly also have the powers to levy financial penalties on companies for breach of licence conditions.
	In addition, in November 2001, I wrote to all gas and electricity suppliers to express my support for the charter, and to stress the need for all suppliers to eradicate sales malpractices, which cause distress and inconvenience to consumers and bring the competitive market into disrepute. I made it clear that, if the problems surrounding sales malpractices were not dealt with, we would have to look again at how best consumers could be protected.

Overhead Transmission Lines

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she has taken to curb the number of overhead transmission lines that have been planned for the future.

Brian Wilson: The National Grid company has a duty to develop and maintain an efficient, co-ordinated and economical system of electricity transmission. It is a matter for that company what proposals it brings forward. These applications are then considered by the Department in the section 37 procedure and decisions reached on them.

Overhead Transmission Lines

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she has taken to ensure that National Grid abides by the relevant planning conditions when erecting pylons for the Lackenby to Shipton overhead transmission lines, with particular reference to access to land in dry conditions.

Brian Wilson: It is a matter for the relevant local planning authorities to enforce the planning conditions applied to the North Yorkshire power line. However, where there is doubt over the interpretation of a condition the Department has been willing to provide clarification.

Miscarriage

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of recent research by the National Radiological Protection Board on the relationship between magnetic fields and the risk of miscarriage.

Brian Wilson: The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) has not recently conducted specific research into any possible relationship between magnetic fields and the risk of miscarriage.
	Two papers have, however, been published in the January 2002 journal Epidemiology by authors funded by the California Department of Health Services. Both papers purport to show an epidemiological association between magnetic fields and the risk of miscarriage and have attracted some media attention.
	One leading American epidemiologist has, in an editorial in the same journal, already questioned the papers' findings and the possible influence of confounding factors.
	The conclusions of the papers are also contrary to the findings of an expert Standing Committee of the International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection, who thoroughly reviewed the published epidemiological literature on electric and magnetic fields and health over the last three decades. Their review was published in December 2001.
	The NRPB's Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR) will be looking at these papers during the coming weeks and will report its views.

End of Life Vehicles Directive

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with other EU member states regarding the implementation of the end of life vehicles directive.

Brian Wilson: None within the past few months. Officials are, however, monitoring other member states' implementation plans, to ensure that our own transposition and implementation of the directive do not place UK businesses at a competitive disadvantage.

End of Life Vehicles Directive

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on recent progress of negotiations on the implementation of proposed European legislation on vehicle recycling.

Brian Wilson: 116 responses were received to the DTI's consultation paper on options for implementing the end of life vehicles directive and these are now being assessed, along with the recommendations and conclusions of the recent Trade and Industry Committee report, to help the Government decide on the best means of transposition and implementation of the directive. We are committed to achieving the important environmental objectives of the directive at least cost, and without putting UK business at a competitive disadvantage.

Manufacturing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times the ministerial group on manufacturing job losses has met since 21 December 2000.

Brian Wilson: There is no ministerial group such as the hon. Member assumes. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 January 2001, Official Report, columns 218–19W, to the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady).

Climate Change Levy

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice the Manufacturing Advisory Service is offering to firms in respect of the climate change levy.

Brian Wilson: The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) is being set up to help increase the competitiveness of UK manufacturing (especially SMEs), by the transfer of knowledge, new technologies, best practice methods and processes, and facilitating innovative training, education and skills development. Although the MAS will not offer specific advice on the climate change levy (CCL), it will encourage manufacturers to look at the efficiency and cost effectiveness of their energy usage and be able to signpost businesses to the relevant organisations for this. HM Customs and Excise provides advice on administrative arrangements for the CCL; the Carbon Trust will provide advice through the Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme which will cover information on cost-effective, low carbon technologies and other measures, including information on the enhanced capital allowances scheme for investments in energy saving technologies; while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) handles the climate change agreements including advice on eligibility for these.

Climate Change Levy

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the impact of the climate change levy upon the manufacturing sector.

Brian Wilson: The climate change levy is an environmental protection measure designed to avoid damaging the competitiveness of UK manufacturing. The levy's impact on individual manufacturing businesses will depend on the extent to which they take advantage of the various levy exemptions, the new scheme of enhanced capital allowances for energy efficiency, and energy support from the new Carbon Trust; and whether their sites qualify for a discount from the levy. Eligible sites in energy intensive industries are receiving an 80 per cent. levy discount where they have committed to challenging energy saving targets in negotiated agreements with the Government.

Climate Change Levy

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what recent representations she has received from British industry regarding the climate change levy;
	(2)  what recent representations she has received from the manufacturing sector regarding the climate change levy.

Brian Wilson: The Department has received a number of representations from business about the climate change levy.
	The Government are keeping in touch with business on the levy to monitor initial experience with its operation. Primary responsibility for the levy lies with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor the Exchequer.

Waste Incineration

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the amount of energy generated from waste incineration in the Buckingham constituency in each of the last five years.

Brian Wilson: Statistics of energy generation from renewables and wastes are not available at a level below that of Government office region, but I am not aware of any waste incineration facility within the hon. Gentleman's constituency.

Respiratory Diseases Claimants

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) interim and (b) final payments were made between (i) 1 January and 1 July 2001 and (ii) 2 July 2001 and 1 January 2002 to respiratory diseases claimants in St. Helens, South.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 24 January 2002
	IRISC, the Department's claims handlers, have made the following payments in the St. Helens, South constituency in relation to compensation for respiratory disease. In total the Department has paid over £819,000 in this region to date.
	
		
			  Number of interim payments Number of full and final payments 
		
		
			 Period 1   
			 1 January to 1 July 2001 32 9 
			
			 Period 2   
			 2 July 2001 and 1 January 2002 32 17

Nanotechnology

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the status is of the Department's research into nanotechnology.

Brian Wilson: The Department has put in place an initiative to establish a national strategy for nanotechnology.
	An advisory group on nanotechnology, comprising experts from industry and academia and chaired by the Director General of Research Councils, Dr. John Taylor, has been established to advise on the actions needed to ensure that the UK is well positioned to exploit the nanotechnology revolution. A report commissioned by the advisory group on the opportunities for the UK is due to be published in the near future. Copies will be placed in the House Library.
	The Government are already making a significant investment in nanotechnology research and exploitation. As part of this, DTI is providing £7.2 million over three years to support a University Innovation Centre (UIC) in Microsystems and Nanotechnology in the north-east of England.

Glass Industry

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on European legislation affecting the glass industry.

Brian Wilson: The glass and glazing industry covers a wide spectrum of DTI interests ranging from glass tableware to construction materials. The Government therefore consider each proposed item of European legislation and the transposition and implementation of adopted EU legislation on its merits and consults widely with interested parties. Legislation and regulations are implemented with a light touch and in a way that maintains a broadly level playing field with other member states. The Government are particularly concerned that extra costs should not be loaded onto UK businesses.

Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Stations

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the capability is for holding stocks of back-up fuels at each of the combined cycle gas turbine power stations commissioned since 1990 in days of use at full levels of generation.

Brian Wilson: We do not keep such statistics. It is for the owners of those power stations to ensure adequate stocks of back-up fuels to meet their contractual and contingency liabilities.

Energy Contingency Planning

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 17 December 2001, Official Report, column 109W, on energy contingency planning, if she will give details of (a) the contingency plans developed by the Gas Industry Emergency Committee and (b) the recent exercises, and their impacts on (i) gas and (ii) electricity customers.

Brian Wilson: The Gas Industry Emergency Committee's work is not yet finished but I shall ensure that copies of the plans are placed in the Libraries of the House as soon as they are ready. I hope this will be in early April. The plans will supplement existing and well rehearsed emergency arrangements including Transco's Network Gas Supply Emergency Procedures. Copies of Transco's plans are already held in the Libraries of the House.
	GIEC's aim is to dovetail those existing plans with wider Government and regulatory emergency powers and procedures to protect, as far as is possible, consumers from supply failures, and, should consumers be affected, to ensure that all available support is delivered speedily and effectively.
	There have been two major exercises carried out in the last four months. The first was part of a regular test carried out under the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations. It was organised by the Health and Safety Executive. Among other things it tested the links between Transco, the Department for Trade and Industry and the National Grid Company (managers of the high-voltage electricity transmission system). It gave us a greater understanding of how the gas and electricity systems and markets would operate in an emergency.
	The second exercise was broader and looked at the communications and roles and responsibilities across Government and other agencies (including the police and local authorities) in the event of terrorist action.
	The results of both these exercises are being taken into account, not just in the development of the gas plans, but also in other emergency procedures, including those for electricity.

Mineworkers' Pensions

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many former miners in Barnsley, East and Mexborough on low mineworkers' pensions will benefit from the one-off lump sum payments she recently announced.

Brian Wilson: This information is not kept on a constituency basis and can be identified only at a disproportionate cost.
	However, we estimate around 15,000 members in Yorkshire will benefit from this one-off lump sum payment, including those living in my hon. Friend's constituency of Barnsley, East and Mexborough.

Retail Petrol Stations

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many retail petrol stations closed in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 25 January 2002
	The Institute of Petroleum's (IP) annual "UK Retail Marketing Survey" (last published in March 2001) provides data on the total number of petrol retail outlets in operation in the UK.
	The table, using the IP data, shows the number of petrol retail outlets in operation in the UK at the end of 1998, 1999 and 2000. The data for the end of 2001 will not be published until March of this year.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1998 13,758 
			 1999 13,716 
			 2000 13,043

Miners' Compensation

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the target time is for a miner's compensation cheque (a) to be sent to a claimant after he has accepted an offer and (b) to be paid following the acceptance of an offer being met.

Brian Wilson: The Handling agreement for compensation for respiratory disease specifies that a payment is made to the claimant's solicitor within 14 days of acceptance of an offer. In relation to vibration white finger, VWF, a payment should be made within 42 days. However, offers of compensation are usually paid by IRISC, the Department's claims handlers, within 10 days of receiving confirmation from a claimant's solicitor that their client's offer is being accepted. This is subject to IRISC being in receipt of the correct documentation, such as Grant of Probate in deceased cases.
	Payment by the claimant's solicitor to the claimant is not specified in the Handling agreement. The Department's opinion is that payment should be made as soon as a cheque has been received.

Miners' Compensation

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was paid by the Government from January to December 2001 in (a) Wales and (b) England, pursuant to the Miners' Compensation Scheme as (i) damages to claimants, (ii) legal costs for claimants' lawyers and (iii) medical costs incurred by the claimants.

Brian Wilson: Between January and December 2001 the Department has paid out £392.7 million to respiratory disease and Vibration White Finger claimants in Wales and England in relation to damages payments and legal costs, broken down as follows:
	
		£ million 
		
			   Damages Legal costs 
		
		
			 Respiratory Disease   
			 England 84.4 21.5 
			 Wales 36.9 7.7 
			 VWF   
			 England 193.3 20.8 
			 Wales 25 2.9 
		
	
	The cost of medical examinations is normally borne by the Department. Where, exceptionally, claimant's have incurred medical costs the Department has paid out £64,434 broken down as follows:
	
		
			  Medical costs (£ million) 
		
		
			 Respiratory Disease  
			 England 19,357 
			 Wales 3,193 
			 VWF  
			 England 37,870 
			 Wales 3,014

Miners Pension Scheme (Easington)

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many ex-miners in the Easington constituency will benefit from the recently announced one-off lump sum payments from the MPS.

Brian Wilson: This information is not kept on a constituency basis and can be identified only at a disproportionate cost.
	However, we estimate around 12,000 members in the British Coal north-east area will benefit from this one-off lump sum payment, including those living in my hon. Friend's constituency of Easington.

Arms Sales (India)

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role she is playing in the promotion of arms sales to India; and what assessment she had made of the impact of sales on the (a) dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and (b) stability in that region.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 25 January 2002
	The promotion of any legitimate UK defence exports, in co-ordination with industry, is the responsibility of the Defence Export Services Organisation of the Ministry of Defence.

Renewable Energy

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support she is providing to industry for the development of renewable forms of energy; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 28 January 2002
	The Government are providing substantial support to industry for the development of renewable forms of energy.
	Introducing the new Renewables Obligation, exempting renewables from the climate change levy and protecting existing Non-fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) contracts will together create a long-term market incentive for renewables worth over £1 billion per year by 2010.
	We are underpinning the obligation with direct Government funding for renewables worth over £260 million between 2001 and 2004. We are setting up extensive capital grants programmes, in particular for offshore wind and energy crops projects, initiating a major photovoltaics demonstration programme, and boosting research and development.
	We recently introduced an order to allow locational flexibility for NFFO 3, 4 and 5 projects that have not yet been commissioned. This will allow more appropriate locations to be found in order to overcome problems in securing planning permission.
	We have initiated studies of each UK region's capacity to generate electricity from renewable sources. Once all these assessments are completed, it is expected that specific regional targets for renewable energy will be adopted across the UK.
	The Government are also exploring the scope for upgrading the electricity distribution system to enable the UK's huge renewable energy resources to be exploited to the full. For example, we have commissioned an initial study of the feasibility of an underwater cable to connect parts of the western seaboard of the UK directly to the National Grid.

Renewable Energy

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of electricity was provided by renewable carbon free energy sources at (a) January 1999, (b) January 2000, (c) January 2001 and (d) January 2002; and what her forecast is for each of the next 10 years.

Brian Wilson: The percentages of electricity generated in the United Kingdom from hydro, wind, solar photovoltaics, wave and tidal sources in 1998, 1999, 2000 were 1.7 per cent., 1.7 per cent. and 1.6 per cent., respectively. The percentage declined in 2000 because of the lower level of hydro output in that year resulting from lower precipitation.
	The Government's target is that by 2010, 10 per cent. of licensed UK electricity sales will come from renewable sources eligible for the Renewables Obligation. It will be for suppliers to determine the proportion of the 10 per cent. which comes from individual renewable sources.

Oldbury Nuclear Power Station

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the development of the Oldbury nuclear power station.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 28 January 2002
	As stated in BNFL's Annual Report and Accounts for 2001, Oldbury power station is projected to end its generating life in 2008. There are no plans for further development of the station.

Chapel Cross Power Station

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to examine the restrictions upon Chapel Cross power station which prevent it from supplying energy to Scotland.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 29 January 2002
	The Department has had a number of discussions with BNFL and Ofgem over this issue. Ofgem are currently considering all the views expressed, as part of their consultation exercise and I will continue to monitor developments.

Chapel Cross Power Station

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had recently with Ofgem on its proposal to reduce the amount of energy that Chapel Cross power station can supply to the market.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 29 January 2002
	The Department has had a number of discussions with both BNFL and Ofgem over this issue. I also discussed this, and a number of other issues, with Callum McCarthy, the Chairman of Ofgem, on 29 January.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of cell damage have been recorded at each of the prisons in the juvenile estate; and what the cost of each was.

Beverley Hughes: For the period April to December 2001, figures held centrally show the cost of damage to cells within the juvenile estate was as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
		
		
			 Brinsford 26,888.22 
			 Castington (55)3,204.96 
			 Feltham (56)725.00 
			 Hollesley Bay 6,213.28 
			 Huntercombe 22,474.80 
			 Lancaster Farms (57)1,432.00 
			 Onley 23,497.55 
			 Portland (58)— 
			 Stoke Heath 6,162.01 
			 Thorn Cross 0 
			 Werrington (59)5,482.22 
			 Wetherby 22,775.00 
			  
			 Total 118,855.04 
		
	
	(55) December only
	(56) November and December only
	(57) September to December only
	(58) Figures not held centrally
	(59) July to December only
	Notes:
	1. Hindley prison and young offender institution will not start providing data until April 2002.
	2. Ashfield young offender institution as a contracted out establishment does not provide Prison Service Headquarters with this information.

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether families have attended review meetings at prisons in the juvenile estate.

Beverley Hughes: Yes. The release of all young persons into the community from prison establishments is planned through a series of meetings. These meetings form an action plan and begin on reception and conclude prior to release. A support plan will be drawn up to enable the young person to be supported on discharge. Attendees at these meetings include sentence planning staff, community supervising officers and families. To date, 34 per cent. have been attended by families.

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of self-harm have been recorded at each of the prisons in the juvenile estate since April 2000.

Beverley Hughes: The table shows the number of reported incidents of self-harm for the 15 to 17-year-old age group in each juvenile establishment for the financial years 2000–01, 2001–02 up to 30 November 2001.
	
		
			 Establishment 2000–01 2001–02(60) Total 
		
		
			 Ashfield 112 65 177 
			 Brinsford 6 5 11 
			 Brockhill 13 13 26 
			 Bullwood Hall 1 2 3 
			 Castington 41 44 85 
			 Eastwood Park 3 29 32 
			 Feltham 9 5 14 
			 Hindley — 1 1 
			 Hollesley Bay 4 7 11 
			 Holloway 8 13 21 
			 Huntercombe 6 3 9 
			 Lancaster Farms 6 6 12 
			 Low Newton 1 1 2 
			 New Hall 18 36 54 
			 Onley 4 15 19 
			 Portland 12 7 19 
			 Stoke Heath 11 10 21 
			 Styal 11 1 12 
			 Werrington 1 — 1 
			 Wetherby 8 16 24 
			  
			 Total 275 279 554 
		
	
	(60) Figures up to 30 November 2001 include establishments in the female estate which hold juveniles.

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many self-harm forms F2052SH were opened at each of the prisons in the juvenile estate last year.

Beverley Hughes: Provisional data for the numbers of F2052SH (Self-harm at Risk forms) forms opened through the juvenile estate in the period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Ashfield 134 
			 Brinsford 141 
			 Castington 253 
			 Feltham 444 
			 Hindley 24 
			 Hollesley Bay 164 
			 Huntercombe 273 
			 Lancaster Farms 63 
			 Onley 205 
			 Portland 68 
			 Stoke Heath 244 
			 Thorn Cross 1 
			 Werrington 95 
			 Wetherby 403

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children are on the basic level of the incentives and earned privileges scheme in each of the prisons in the juvenile estate.

Beverley Hughes: Owing to the fluidity of the review process, these figures are not held centrally as they change from day to day. As a guide it was envisaged that not more than 10 per cent. of the population would be on the basic regime. However, this figure is rarely reached and almost never exceeded.

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) request and (b) complaint forms have been issued at each of the prisons in the juvenile estate since April 2000.

Beverley Hughes: Provisional date showing the numbers of request and complaint forms issued in the juvenile estate during the stated period is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Ashfield 323 
			 Brinsford 61 
			 Castington 32 
			 Feltham (61)307 
			 Hindley 0 
			 Hollesley Bay (62)39 
			 Huntercombe 444 
			 Lancaster Farms 53 
			 Onley 37 
			 Portland 129 
			 Stoke Heath 59 
			 Thorn Cross 31 
			 Werrington 33 
			 Wetherby 96 
		
	
	(61) From April 2001
	(62) April to December 2001

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times control and restraint was used in each of the prisons in the juvenile estate since April 2000.

Beverley Hughes: Provisional data on the use of force on juveniles in the establishments currently in the juvenile estate since April 2000 to 22 January 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
		
		
			 Ashfield 368 
			 Brinsford 312 
			 Castington 450 
			 Feltham 511 
			 Hollesley Bay 215 
			 Huntercombe 436 
			 Lancaster Farms 120 
			 Onley 309 
			 Portland 129 
			 Stoke Heath 413 
			 Thorn Cross 1 
			 Werrington 184 
			 Wetherby 167

EU Arrest Warrant

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what representations have been made to other EU member states, to shorten the period between arrest, detention in custody and charge in their jurisdictions;
	(2)  what representations have been made to other EU member states to ensure that United Kingdom citizens subject to the EU arrest warrant will not be held in custody for long periods before trial.

Beverley Hughes: None. These are matters for the competent authorities in each member state, including the United Kingdom. Under Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is binding on all member states, arrested or detained persons must be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorised by law to exercise judicial power, and they are entitled to a trial within a reasonable time or to release pending a trial. Persons who are deprived of their liberty by arrest or detention are also entitled to take proceedings by which "the lawfulness of their detention shall be decided speedily by a court". The European arrest warrant cannot be used for the purpose of interrogating a suspect, but only for the purpose of conducting a criminal prosecution or executing a custodial sentence or detention order.

Gartree Prison Furniture Workshop

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason the furniture workshop at Gartree prison was closed.

Beverley Hughes: Gartree prison is currently undergoing a four-year refurbishment programme. The furniture craft workshop at the prison has been closed temporarily during the refurbishment period and will re-open at the conclusion of the work.
	The course content of the work carried out in Gartree's workshops will be reviewed to ensure it meets the needs of life sentence prisoners who are in the early years of their sentence as Gartree now holds only life sentence prisoners.

Convictions

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) number and (b) percentage of criminal prosecutions resulted in a conviction in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Bradley: The following table provides the available information, extracted from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database, which relates to the number of defendants proceeded against and those found guilty in each of the years 1996 to 2000 in England and Wales.
	Statistics for 2001 are not yet available.
	
		Defendants proceeded against and those found guilty of all offences, 1996 to 2000—England and Wales
		
			   Defendants proceeded against Defendants convicted Percentage convicted 
		
		
			 1996 1,919,494 1,438,027 75 
			 1997 1,855,333 1,385,822 75 
			 1998 1,951,915 1,469,734 75 
			 1999 1,881,765 1,408,461 75 
			 2000 1,904,677 1,423,702 75

Deportations

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers were removed from the country in 2001.

Angela Eagle: There were 6,830 principal asylum applicants (to the nearest five) removed from the United Kingdom in the period January to September 2001 (the latest period for which information is available). Further information is given in the table.
	
		Asylum removals in 2001(63)
		
			   Principal applicants removed Dependants removed(64) Total asylum seekers removed 
		
		
			 Q1 2001 2,070 n/a n/a 
			 Q2 2001 2,375 215 2,590 
			 Q3 2001 2,385 355 2,745 
		
	
	(63) Includes persons departing 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
	(64) Data on dependants of asylum seekers removed have only been collected since April 2001.
	Note:
	Provisional figures, rounded to the nearest five. Figures may not sum due to rounding.
	Information on the number of asylum removals is published on a quarterly basis. Information for the fourth quarter of 2001 will be published on 28 February 2002 on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/ immigration1.html.

Asylum Support

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made towards the introduction of an alternative to the voucher scheme of asylum support; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced that by early autumn 2002 he would have established a less divisive and more socially acceptable alternative to vouchers. That remains his intention.

Sex Offenders Register

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are on the Sex Offenders Register in (a) West Somerset and (b) Sedgmoor.

Beverley Hughes: Until March 2001 data on the number of registered sex offenders were collated bi-annually on a national basis from the Police National Computer, however, this arrangement has been overtaken by guidance issued by the Home Office in respect of the statutory provisions in Section 67 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. The guidance requires information about the number of registered sex offenders in each police area to be published. This will take place from June 2002 and local systems are being put in place to deliver it. Until these systems are in place such information could only be obtained by a specific exercise by the particular police force concerned which would entail disproportionate costs.

Strip Searches

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 928W, on strip searches, what response he has made to the recommendation of the Searches on the Person Review concerning statistical (a) recording and (b) monitoring of strip searches.

Beverley Hughes: I have not made any such response—this was an internal Prison Service review and the Prisons Board accepted the recommendations made.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 7 November 2001 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mrs. M. Brown.

Angela Eagle: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 24 January 2002.

Prisoner Releases

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released on temporary licence in the last year for which figures are available; on how many occasions; for what purpose; and on how many of these occasions the prisoner (a) failed to return and (b) otherwise breached the conditions of the licence.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 23 January 2002
	In the year 2000, 10,559 persons were released from prisons in England and Wales on temporary licence. Licences can be given for a short period, for example, a day to attend a funeral, or may be given several times over a longer period, for example where a prisoner is working outside of the prison and for the purpose of resettlement and preparation for release. A total of 256,837 temporary release licences were granted over the year 2000. 318 of these were failures, the inmate did not return to prison at the time that they were required to. This represents a failure rate of 0.1 per cent. of licences granted and was the lowest rate since 1991.
	The purposes for which temporary release from prisons in England and Wales was granted in the year 2000 are given in the table.
	There are no data held centrally on how many people have breached the terms of their temporary release other than for failure to return.
	
		
			 Purpose Number of releases 
		
		
			 All licences 256,837 
			   
			 Local visit 46,406 
			   
			 Resettlement 66,520 
			 Accommodation 160 
			 Community service 32,158 
			 Employment 21,528 
			 Family ties 11,052 
			 Pre-parole release 535 
			 Probation service 595 
			 In hostel etc. 492 
			   
			 Facility 135,501 
			 Reparation 26,083 
			 Training and education 14,043 
			 Working out 94,019 
			 Other 1,356 
			 Compassionate 8,411 
			 Carer 664 
			 Deaths 408 
			 Family needs 551 
			 Family occasions 34 
			 Medical 5,816 
			 Religious service 938

Victim Support

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on funding to local victim support schemes which retain local autonomy while remaining part of a county-wide scheme that includes the witness service.

Keith Bradley: The allocation of Home Office grant to victim support schemes is determined by the Victim Support Funding Panel, a sub-committee of the Victim Support Board of Trustees, in accordance with criteria agreed annually between the Home Office and the Board of Trustees.
	It is Government policy that the delivery of Government funded criminal justice services should be organised on a criminal justice area basis. The grant criteria agreed between the Home Office and the Victim Support Board of Trustees have accordingly been framed in a way to encourage victim support schemes to plan their service delivery on an area basis, to achieve best use of resources through integrated planning.

Female Prisoners

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the female prison population (a) have children and (b) have children under the age of four years.

Beverley Hughes: The last major survey of mothers in prison was at the end of 1994. The findings were included in Home Office Research Study 162, "Imprisoned women and mothers", first published in 1997.
	61 per cent. of the population surveyed were mothers of children under 18. 30 per cent. of these had children under five years.
	Research conducted for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prison's thematic review, "Women in Prison", published in 1997, indicated that 66 per cent. of the population surveyed were mothers, with over a third of the mothers having one child or more under five.

Segregation Cells

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been held in segregation cells in each of the prisons in the juvenile estate since April 2000.

Beverley Hughes: Provisional data on the number of children held in segregation during the stated period are given in the table. The length of stay is dependent on the reason and will vary from no more than a few hours to a carefully prescribed number of days.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Ashfield 134 
			 Brinsford 55 
			 Castington 882 
			 Feltham 154 
			 Hindley (63)90 
			 Hollesley Bay 504 
			 Huntercombe 487 
			 Lancaster Farms 228 
			 Onley 661 
			 Portland (65),(66)124 
			 Stoke Heath 660 
			 Thorn Cross 78 
			 Werrington 0 
			 Wetherby 380 
		
	
	(65) From July 2001
	(66) Previous records held by police for investigation

MI5

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the policy of MI5 is in respect of release of its post-1945 records to the Public Record Office.

David Blunkett: holding answer 29 January 2002
	The Security Service systematically reviews and where appropriate releases historical records to the Public Record Office in accordance with the criteria agreed with them and endorsed by the Advisory Council.
	The Security Service has reviewed and released all archived files covering the first world war. Moving on to the second world war, the second phase in its release programme, the service released in November 2001 its fourth tranche of files on the period up to the end of that war. The service is reviewing its inter-war records in preparation for further releases. It will then move on to the period after the second world war. The timing of this depends on the resources that the service is able to devote to the process.

Surveillance

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to paragraphs 14.1, 14.2 and 14.3 of the report of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner for 2000–01, 
	(1)  for what reasons no codes of practice had been issued under section 71(1) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the public authorities entitled at 1 January to carry out surveillance under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, and which of those authorities have exercised such powers since the introduction of the Act;
	(3)  pursuant to paragraph 2.4 of the report of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner for 2000–01, to what reasons he ascribes the delay in recruiting assistant surveillance commissioners; what the appropriate establishment is for the Commissioner's Office; and on what date he expects this to be achieved;
	(4)  what guidance has been provided to the Chief Surveillance Commissioner in respect of the determining of applications made to him by public authorities which involve eliciting matters subject to (a) legal privilege, (b) confidential personal information and (c) confidential journalistic material; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: holding answer 29 January 2002
	The three part-time assistant surveillance commissioners approved to support the Chief Surveillance Commissioner were appointed on 1 May 2001, the five inspectors were appointed during April 2001. The office of the surveillance commissioners is fully up to strength.
	The public authorities entitled to carry out covert surveillance under Part II of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 are those listed in schedule 1 of the Act and the British Broadcasting Corporation which was added by order on 16 March 2001. All those public authorities have (as far as records indicate) used the powers available to them under Part II of RIPA.
	The draft codes of practice on covert surveillance and covert human intelligence sources have been issued in draft and were publicly consulted on. The consultation process finished on 17 November 2000. It raised a number of complex issues which required detailed consideration. The draft codes will be before the House shortly. The draft code of practice on covert surveillance provides guidance on authorisations involving confidential information which consist of matters subject to legal privilege, confidential personal information and confidential journalistic material.

Drug Addicts

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered young drug addicts aged 16 to 24 years there are by region, expressed as (a) a percentage figure and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest date available.

Bob Ainsworth: The term "registered addict" has no generally agreed definition in the United Kingdom. However, the Department of Health has published information on the number of drug misusers in treatment in England in 2000–01. The information available is in the following table. No comparable figures are available for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
	
		Number and percentage of drug misusers aged under 25 years in treatment by the national health service regional office area -- 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001
		
			   Number Percentage 
		
		
			 England 37,453 100 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 8,031 21 
			 London 6,512 17 
			 North West 5,020 13 
			 South West 4,552 12 
			 West Midlands 3,918 10 
			 Trent 3,784 10 
			 South East 3,346 9 
			 Eastern 2,290 6 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health Statistical Bulletin 2001/33: Statistics from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases on drug misusers in treatment in England, 2000–01 (tables 5 and 6). Available at www.doh.gov/ public/sb0133.pdf

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria he applies in deciding whether the creation of a new NDPB is justified.

Christopher Leslie: In "Quangos: Opening the Doors", published in June 1998, the Government stated that they would ensure that a new non-departmental public body is only set up where it can be demonstrated that this is the most cost-effective and appropriate means of carrying out the given function. This remains Government policy and the analysis in each case will depend upon the specific circumstances.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of (a) large and (b) small NDPBs are covered by the Efficiency report published by the Cabinet Office.

Christopher Leslie: The executive NDPBs 1999 report, which was last published in March 2000, covers only the larger executive NDPBs. The threshold for inclusion was expenditure of £15 million and above in financial year 1998–99.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of (a) large and (b) small NDPBs produce an annual report; and of those what percentage in each case is a public document;
	(2)  how many (a) large and (b) small NDPBs release summary reports of meetings with (i) the general public, (ii) local authorities and (iii) Government Departments;
	(3)  how many (a) large and (b) small NDPBs consult their users by means of (i) questionnaires, (ii) public meetings and (iii) other forms;
	(4)  how many and what percentage of advisory NDPBs have formed their own codes for board members; and how many, and what percentage, operate registers of interest;
	(5)  how many and what percentage of (a) large and (b) small NDPBs publish information on their role and work programme on the worldwide web.

Christopher Leslie: The Government set out their policy on making the operation of non-departmental public bodies more open in "Quangos: Opening the Doors", published on 29 June 1998, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Detailed information in the form requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	I anticipate that the next edition, "Public Bodies 2001", will be published shortly.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of (a) large executive, (b) small executive and (c) advisory NDPBs are under the jurisdiction of the parliamentary ombudsman.

Christopher Leslie: All executive NDPBs are brought within the jurisdiction of the parliamentary ombudsman, unless there are exceptional reasons for not doing so, or they are already within the jurisdiction of another ombudsman. Those advisory NDPBs that exceptionally have direct dealings with members of the public are also brought within the ombudsman's jurisdiction.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether NDPBs are obliged to submit a description of functions to the annual publication of "Public Bodies".

Christopher Leslie: In "Quangos: Opening the Doors", published in June 1998, the Government stated that future editions of "Public Bodies" would include a description of the functions of each body listed. In line with this, a description of each individual body's terms of reference was included in "Public Bodies 1998" and has been similarly included in subsequent editions.

Relationships (Civil Registration)

Patsy Calton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact that the enactment of the Relationships (Civil Registration) Bill would have on Government servants who are in long-term unmarried partnerships.

Barbara Roche: Civil partnership registration and associated rights and responsibilities raise a number of complex issues, which have prompted a growing debate within society and the Government are watching this debate with interest.
	These issues potentially have significant financial and administrative implications and the Government cannot commit themselves to making any changes in these areas before undertaking a comprehensive analysis of all the implications. The Government are examining the issues in detail.

Civil Defence

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what communication his Department has had with civil defence officers in local government since 11 September 2001.

Christopher Leslie: I have met local authority representatives to discuss civil defence matters on a number of occasions and will continue to do so.
	The Civil Contingencies Secretariat has regular contact with local authority representatives and emergency planning officers, and they have met representatives of the Local Government Association and the Emergency Planning Society on 14 January to discuss a range of issues. In October the "Response to the Deliberate Release of Chemicals or Biological Agents—Guidance for Local Authorities" was issued. Local authority representatives are also directly involved in various working groups set up after 11 September.

Civil Defence

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the civil defence grants in (a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98, (c) 1998–99, (d) 1999–2000 and (e) 2000–01; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The civil defence grants for the years 1996–97 to 2000–01 are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 (a) 1996–97 14.9 
			 (b) 1997–98 14.4 
			 (c) 1998–99 14 
			 (d) 1999–2000 14 
			 (e) 2000–01 14

Civil Defence

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent assessment he has made of funding needed to help local authorities prepare for and deal with terrorist activity in the last 12 months.

Christopher Leslie: The payment of civil defence grants to local authorities supports their planning of generic responses to all local disasters or crises, which includes their contingency planning for responses to terrorist activities. The level of funding is set in the light of all demands placed upon local authorities.

Theft and Fraud

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what additional security measures are planned by his Department to deter and detect theft and fraud.

Christopher Leslie: A number of baseline security measures exist to try to reduce the likelihood that thefts will occur and to limit the scope for fraud. Chiefly, these are centred on detecting those with likely criminal intent through effective vetting procedures and denying them access to our buildings through effective access control procedures.
	Whenever theft has occurred, or fraud is suspected or has been detected, an internal investigation is conducted by departmental security staff. Where appropriate, the police subsequently become involved.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration has regarding the continued discharge of his functions.

Christopher Leslie: Sir Michael Buckley has indicated he is minded to step down in the summer. He currently holds the post of Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England, as well as equivalent posts in Scotland and Wales. The Government will shortly put in place arrangements to fill these posts and in doing so will take full account of their commitment to create a new unified ombudsman body in England, as set out in my statement of 20 July 2001.

Ministerial Transport

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his estimate is of the cost of (a) ministerial cars and drivers and (b) taxis for his Department in each of the last four years.

Christopher Leslie: Responsibility for the provision of ministerial cars and drivers has been delegated under the terms of the Framework Document to the Government Car Despatch Agency. I have asked its chief executive, Mr. Nick Matheson, to write to the hon. Gentleman.
	The figures for expenditure on taxis used by staff in the Cabinet Office are £18,572.69 in 1997–98; £86,362.25 in 1998–99; £113,857.62 in 1999–2000; and £135,391.14 in 2000–01.

Public Service Agreement

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library details of the performance of the Cabinet Office in each year since 1999 for each Public Service Agreement listed in the document Cm 4181 Public Service Agreements 1999–2002 under the headings (a) performance targets and (b) increasing the productivity of operations; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: Details of the performance of the Cabinet Office in each year since 1999 for each Public Service Agreement listed in the document Cm 4181 Public Service Agreements 1999–2002 pertaining to the Cabinet Office were reported in: Cabinet Office—The Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01 to 2001–02 Cm 4618; and Cabinet Office—The Government Expenditure Plans 2001–02 to 2003–04 Cm 5119. Copies of both publications are held in the House of Commons Library and are available via the Cabinet Office website.
	Some of the Public Service Agreement targets listed in Cm 4181 which were agreed as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) were subsumed in new Public Service Agreements agreed as part of the 2000 Spending Review. These are detailed in Cm 5119.
	The Cabinet Office Departmental Report for 2002 which will be published before the summer recess will also detail the Department's performance against its Public Service Agreement targets.
	The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GDA), which is an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, and the Central Office of Information (COI), which is an executive agency and separate Government Department reporting to me/DPM, also have key performance targets.
	The GCDA performance was reported in the agency's annual report and accounts for the financial year 2000–01, which were laid before Parliament on 17 July 2001.
	Central Office of Information (COI) performance was reported in the agency's annual report and accounts for the financial year 2000–01, which were laid before Parliament on 20 July 2001.

Regional Government Offices

Don Foster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what were (a) the administrative operating costs and (b) the total annual budget in the latest year for which figures are available for each regional Government office in England.

Barbara Roche: The administrative running costs and the total annual budgets (including a small capital allocation) for each of the Government offices for the regions for 2000–01 are detailed in the table.
	Programme budgets administered by the Government offices are the responsibility of the Secretaries of State for the relevant sponsor Departments. They have therefore not been included in the figures shown.
	
		£000 
		
			 Government offices Actual operating costs 2000–01 Annual budget 2000–01 
		
		
			 North East 8,197.33 8,292.91 
			 North West 13,651.03 13,630.52 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 9,357.21 9,358.75 
			 West Midlands 9,960.77 9,937.89 
			 East Midlands 7,335.77 7,318.82 
			 East 7,542.50 7,494.00 
			 South West 8,711.39 9,465.30 
			 South East 9,477.27 8,721.83 
			 London(67) 18,593.81 18,690.40 
			  
			 Total 92,827.08 92,910.42 
		
	
	(67) GO London figures include the Regional Co-ordination Unit.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Youth Parliament

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reason the Minister responsible for children and young people has not responded to the UK Youth Parliament's Manifesto; and if she will make a statement.

John Denham: I have now made a comprehensive response on behalf of the Government to the UK Youth Parliament Manifesto. Officials in the Children and Young People's Unit are working with co-ordinators in the UK Youth Parliament to ensure that all members of the Parliament have copies and it is available on the unit's website at www.cypu.gov.uk.

Teachers' Pay

Hilton Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she intends to make information available to schools on the level of financial support for the teachers' pay award next year.

Stephen Timms: The pay award will be funded from schools' general budgets. The effective increase in Education Standard Spending is 5.7 per cent. for 200203 compared with an estimated cost of the pay settlement of 4 per cent. It is for local education authorities to notify schools formally of the level of their budgets in 200203 by 31 March.

SSA (Cambridgeshire)

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the Cambridgeshire local education authority spend on education above SSA per pupil for the primary and secondary sectors, and in total, for 199091 to 200002 and projected for the financial year 200203, adjusted for inflation at current values.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 22 January 2002
	The following table contains the latest available information:
	
		Cambridgeshire -- Real terms figures(68)
		
			  199091 199192 199293 199394 199495 199596 199697 199798 199899 19992000 
		
		
			 NCE per pupil   
			 Pre Primary/Primary 1,640 1,790 2,130 2,100 2,190 2,180 2,120 2,030 2,090 2,200 
			 Secondary 2,590 2,670 2,910 2,800 2,850 2,750 2,740 2,700 2,630 2,770 
			 Total 2,030 2,150 2,460 2,390 2,470 2,420 2,380 2,300 2,300 2,430 
			
			 SSA per pupil   
			 Pre Pri/Primary 1,790 1,960 2,010 1,970 2,010 1,990 2,030 1,910 2,080 2,190 
			 Secondary 2,570 2,670 2,700 2,760 2,730 2,640 2,670 2,640 2,640 2,680 
			 Total 2,110 2,250 2,300 2,300 2,310 2,260 2,290 2,200 2,300 2,390 
		
	
	(68) All figures are in real terms at 200001 prices, and rounded to the nearest 10.
	Notes:
	1. Information for 200002 and 200203 is not yet available and as a result it is not possible to arrive at a projection.
	2. Figures for 199091 to 199899 include grant maintained schools. Figures for 19992000 include ex-GM schools.
	3. Expenditure data for 19992000 is taken from S52 outturn statements completed by local education authorities and returned to DfES. Data for all previous years is taken from DETR's Revenue Outturn Returns.
	4. For the years 199091 to 199293, Net Current Expenditure after recharges was not recorded in the RO1. Net Recurrent Expenditure is used for these years. Therefore, per pupil figures for these years may not be strictly comparable with the later years.
	5. SSA figures implicitly cover funding for Special Schools, and there is no split available for special schools.
	6. The NCE figures provided here are for pre primary/primary and secondary only. Hence the two sets of figures are not comparable
	7. Pupil numbers used in calculating per pupil figures are financial year averages, based on January Annual School Census returns.
	8. Pupil numbers for secondary schools for 199091, 199192 and 199293 include sixth form colleges; these ceased to be classified as schools in April 1993.
	9. Cambridgeshire was re-organised in 199899.

Training

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many adults aged over 25 years are without access to training, broken down by region expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total figure, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the period in which the latest figures are available.

John Healey: Set out is information from the National Adult Learning Survey (NALS2001). It shows the number of people (in thousands) aged 26 and over who are classed as non-learners. A non-learner is someone who has not taken part in any of the NALS-defined learning activities over the past three years. The information is not available for Scotland or Northern Ireland.
	
		
			 Government office region Percentage of GOR who are non-learners Number (Thousand) Population in GOR (Thousand) 
		
		
			 Wales 47 916 1,962 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 41 1,373 3,349 
			 North West 37 1,695 4,543 
			 North East 37 637 1,713 
			 West Midlands 35 1,251 3,545 
			 East Midlands 34 966 2,832 
			 London 31 1,472 4,738 
			 South West 30 1,013 3,394 
			 Eastern 28 1,028 3,695 
			 South East 25 1,347 5,473 
		
	
	It is important to note that most of these non-learners have chosen not to do any learning or are restricted by family/work circumstances. They are not usually non- learners as a result of access problems.In terms of factors that might restrict access, some of the access-related obstacles to learning (not mutually exclusive) mentioned by non-learners include:
	Cannot find local opportunities to learn (12 per cent.);
	Problems arranging transport to the course (15 per cent.);
	Course difficult due to health/disability (9 per cent.).

Qualifications (19-year-olds)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 19-year-olds there are without a basic qualification, broken down by region, expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) total number, ranked in descending order according to percentages for the latest date for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The information readily available has been derived from the Labour Force Survey and is given in the table.
	
		Estimates of the numbers and proportions of 19-year-olds(67) with no qualifications by region, 200001, United Kingdom
		
			   Population aged 19 (Thousand) Numbers with no qualifications (Thousand) Proportion with no qualifications(68) (Percentage) 
		
		
			 United Kingdom 726 61 8 
			 
			 Home countries
			 Northern Ireland 23 2 9 
			 Wales 43 4 9 
			 England 605 49 8 
			 Scotland 54 4 7 
			 
			 Government office regions
			 East Midlands 55 6 10 
			 West Midlands 61 6 10 
			 East 63 6 9 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 61 5 8 
			 London 93 7 7 
			 North West 74 5 7 
			 South East 101 7 7 
			 North East 38 2 6 
			 South West 59 3 6 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Due to small sample sizes, the proportion of 19 to 21-year-olds with no qualifications have been used as a proxy for 19-year-olds without qualifications.
	2. Estimates of the proportion with no qualifications are subject to sampling error. Figures are accurate to:
	1 percentage point for UK and England estimates (eg estimate for England lies between 7 per cent. and 9 per cent.),
	2 percentage points for Yorkshire, London, North West, South East, South West and Scotland estimates,
	3 percentage points for East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, North East and Wales estimates, and
	4 percentage points for the Northern Ireland estimate (eg the proportion lies between 5 per cent. and 13 per cent.)
	Source:
	DfES estimates from the Labour Force Survey, averaged datawinter 200001 to autumn 2001

Excellence in Cities

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the Standards Fund and Excellence in Cities allocations for the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in 200102 and the provisional indication of allocations for 200203.

Stephen Timms: The following table shows allocations for the Standards Fund and Excellence in Cities for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in 200102, and the provisional allocations so far announced for 200203. The figures include both Government and local authority contributions.
	
		200102 Standards fund allocations for City of Newcastle upon -- Tyne council
		
			   
		
		
			 Adult: Pupil Ratios in Reception Classes 685,209 
			 Advanced Skills Teachers 162,500 
			 Beacon Schools 116,500 
			 Children in Public Care 44,317 
			 Children of Asylum Seekers 57,500 
			 City Learning Centres 1,200,000 
			 Class Size Recurrent Funding 1,319,707 
			 Devolved Capital 2,025,164 
			 Drug Prevention 69,510 
			 Early Years Training and Development 72,002 
			 Education Health Partnerships 31,689 
			 Ethnic Minority Achievement 613,453 
			 Family Literacy and Numeracy 45,200 
			 Fresh Start 250,000 
			 Gifted and Talented Children Summer Schools 18,000 
			 Induction of Newly Qualified Teachers 278,145 
			 Information Management Strategy 146,998 
			 Key Stage 3: National Implementation 288,063 
			 LEA Music Services 234,600 
			 Literacy and Numeracy Summer Schools 70,000 
			 Maintained Nursery School Service 119,189 
			 National Curriculum 88,062 
			 National Grid for Learning 1,145,169 
			 NDS Condition Funding 1,701,927 
			 Performance Management 146,664 
			 Playing for Success 50,000 
			 Primary Literacy and Numeracy Strategies 1,031,147 
			 Qualifications 11,202 
			 Schools Achievement Awards 266,280 
			 School Improvement 961,000 
			 School Laboratories 339,716 
			 School Leadership 125,647 
			 School Security 107,799 
			 Seed Capital Challenge 192,864 
			 Sick Children 12,662 
			 Small Education Action Zones 318,120 
			 Small Schools Fund 328,591 
			 Social Inclusion: Pupil Support 1,405,300 
			 Special Educational Needs 462,163 
			 Specialist Schools 1,099,620 
			 Study Support 287,697 
			 Supported Early Retirement Scheme for Heads 40,000 
			 Teachers' Sabbaticals 90,000 
			 Teaching Assistants 1,094,654 
			 Teenage Pregnancies 100,900 
			 Traveller Children Achievement 31,502 
			 Year 6 Booster Classes 222,892 
			 Year 9 Booster Classes 54,000 
			 Youth Service 11,650 
			   
			 Excellence in Cities  
			 Excellence in Cities: Excellence Challenge 262,334 
			 Excellence in Cities: Secondary(67) 1,903,000 
			  
			 Total 21,740,308 
		
	
	
		200203 Standards fund allocations for City of Newcastle upon -- Tyne council
		
			   
		
		
			 Adult: Pupil Ratios in Reception Classes 298,958 
			 Advanced Skills Teachers (ASTs) 128,250 
			 Beacon Schools 154,500 
			 Capital Funding for Nursery Education in Disadvantaged Areas 98,178 
			 Class Size Initiative 31,875 
			 Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention 73,107 
			 Early Years Training and Development 72,002 
			 Education Health Partnerships 32,439 
			 Ethnic Minority Achievement 613,453 
			 Gifted and Talented Summer Schools 18,000 
			 Induction of Newly Qualified Teachers 327,117 
			 KS3 Strategy and Summer Schools 891,734 
			 LEA Music Services 403,926 
			 National Grid for Learning 1,580,283 
			 NDS Condition Funding 2,609,476 
			 NDS Devolved Formula Capital 1,435,678 
			 New School Security Projects 49,051 
			 Performance Management and Threshold Assessment 150,829 
			 Playing for Success 50,000 
			 Primary Literacy and Numeracy Strategies 926,761 
			 Qualifications 17,875 
			 School Improvement 1,056,250 
			 Seed Challenge Capital 322,740 
			 Sick Children and Children in Public Care 63,567 
			 Small Schools Fund 376,000 
			 Social Inclusion: Pupil Support 1,445,949 
			 Special Educational Needs 514,894 
			 Study Support 480,658 
			 Teacher Recruitment Incentives 96,115 
			 Teacher Sabbaticals 162,000 
			 Teaching Assistants 1,086,584 
			 Teenage Pregnancies 56,646 
			 Traveller Children Achievement 31,502 
			 Year 6 Booster Classes 224,658 
			   
			 Excellence in Cities  
			 Excellence in Cities: Excellence Challenge 594,094 
			 Excellence in Cities: Primary and Secondary(69) 2,033,663 
			  
			 Total 18,508,812 
		
	
	(69) Including Gifted and Talented Children, Learning Support Units and Learning Mentors

School Run

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she has taken to discourage the use of private cars to transport pupils to and from school; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Department for Education and Skills continues to work closely with the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions, the Department of Health and other members of the School Travel Advisory Group to promote alternatives to the car for the journey to school. We have also produced practical guides and software to assist local authorities and schools in introducing school travel plans and encouraging more sustainable school travel.

Special Grant Allocation

Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will (a) set out the criteria for allocation of special grant to authorities most affected by the transfer of funding for sixth form provision to the Learning and Skills Council and (b) list the amount of special grant to be made available to each local education authority.

Stephen Timms: The special grant will be paid to local education authorities: (a) whose post-16 SSA (after their Learning and Skills Council allocation for sixth form provision has been deducted) is less than 7.5 per cent. of their original post-16 SSA, and the grant will be such as would make up the post 16-SSA to 7.5 per cent. of the original post-16 SSA; or (b) who have less than 85 per cent. of their increase in education SSA (before the LSC transfer) available for purposes other than the increase in sixth form funding compared with the total of 200203 real terms guarantees for the authority, and the grant will be such as would make 85 per cent. of that increase available. The table sets out the allocations of special grant by LEA.
	
		 million 
		
			 LEA name  Allocation 
		
		
			 Kensington and Chelsea 0.075 
			 Barnet 0.800 
			 Bromley 0.522 
			 Ealing 0.369 
			 Kingston upon Thames 0.137 
			 Merton 0.107 
			 Coventry 0.398 
			 Wolverhampton 0.236 
			 Sefton 0.561 
			 Wirral 0.203 
			 Doncaster 0.111 
			 Calderdale 0.454 
			 Gateshead 0.106 
			 North Tyneside 0.223 
			 Sunderland 0.024 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 0.426 
			 South Gloucestershire 1.433 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 0.575 
			 North Yorkshire 1.093 
			 York 0.316 
			 Dorset 1.222 
			 Poole 0.301 
			 Leicestershire 1.836 
			 West Berkshire 0.294 
			 Peterborough 0.428 
			 Cheshire 0.387 
			 Devon 0.625 
			 Worcestershire 0.771 
			 Medway 0.179 
			 Cumbria 0.478 
			 Gloucestershire 0.413 
			 Northumberland 0.883 
			 Suffolk 0.466 
			 Warwickshire 0.696 
			  
			 Total 17.149

WORK AND PENSIONS

Housing Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which local authorities had (a) the best and (b) the worst record in paying housing benefit in 200001.

Malcolm Wicks: There are many factors involved in the effective administration of housing benefit. There is therefore no single objective measure by which to judge local authorities' achievements as best or worst overall.

Income Support and Family Credit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incorrect income support and family credit awards there were in each of the past 10 years, as a percentage of the total; and what the total cost to the Department was.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. Family credit was replaced by working families tax credit in October 1999, and is the responsibility of the Inland Revenue.

Widowers' Pensions

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to introduce widowers' pensions.

Malcolm Wicks: Our reforms to bereavement benefits introduced in April 2001 concentrate the help available where and when it is needed moston immediate needs and on families with children. For the first time these benefits are available equally to both men and women.
	Immediate help with costs arising on bereavement is provided by a lump sum bereavement payment of 2,000double the old widow's payment of 1,000. There is a weekly benefit for widowed parents who satisfy the qualifying conditions. A bereavement allowance is also available for 12 months, to give widows and widowers aged 45 or over without dependants time to adjust to their new circumstances.
	We keep all our policies under review but we have no plans to introduce a bereavement pension for either widows or widowers.

Pensioners (Incomes)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners had no private income by region, expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest year for which figures are available.

Ian McCartney: The information requested is in the table:
	
		Pensioners with no private income
		
			 Government office region Percentage Number 
		
		
			 North-east 24 80,000 
			 London 22 170,000 
			 Scotland 19 100,000 
			 North-west and Merseyside 18 150,000 
			 Yorks and Humber 16 90,000 
			 Wales 16 60,000 
			 West-midlands 15 90,000 
			 Eastern 13 90,000 
			 East-midlands 12 60,000 
			 South-west 11 70,000 
			 South-east 8 70,000 
			
			 GB average 15 1,040,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Private income has been assumed to mean any income other than that provided by state benefits. The estimates have been given for all pensioner units and are from the Family Resources Survey 19992000.
	2. Pensioner units are defined as single (non-cohabiting) people over state pension age (65 and over for men, 60 and over for women) and couples (married or cohabiting) where the man is over state pension age.
	3. Proportions have been rounded to the nearest 1 per cent. and numbers to the nearest 10,000. Due to small sample sizes some figures are uncertain.
	4. The FRS relies on self-reporting of private income and hence estimates are subject to error.
	Both pensioners with no private income and those with some private income will benefit from the Pension Credit.

Incomes

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many children were living in households below 60 per cent. of median income by region, expressed as (a) percentage of population and (b) total number, in descending order according to percentage figure in 2000;
	(2)  how many individuals had incomes below 50 per cent. of average income, by region, expressed as (a) a total number and (b) a percentage of population, in descending order according to percentage figures in 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: Such information as is available can be found in the publication Households Below Average Income 1994/51999/00, a copy of which is held in the Library. Results for 200001 will be published in April.

Incomes

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people spent at least two out of three years on a low income, broken down by region, expressed as (a) a percentage of population and (b) a total number, in descending order according to percentage figures in 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available.

Bank Accounts

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households were without a bank or building society account, broken down by region, expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest year in which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
	
		Households without a bank or building society account
		
			 Region Number without account (thousand) Percentage without account 
		
		
			 Scotland 320 14 
			 North East 170 14 
			 Wales 160 12 
			 Yorks and Humberside 230 10 
			 West Midlands 200 10 
			 London 290 9 
			 North West 270 9 
			 East Midlands 150 8 
			 Eastern 110 5 
			 South West 90 5 
			 South East 140 4 
			  
			 All 2,140 9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Post office accounts, TESSAs and ISAs are included as bank or building society accounts.
	2. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that control for tenure, council tax band and a number of demographic variables. Estimates are subject to sampling error and to variability in non-response.
	3. Estimates of numbers in each region are subject to greater uncertainty, as FRS-based results are not reconciled to regional-level population estimates, except for London.
	4. The numbers are rounded to the nearest 10,000.
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey 200001

Minimum Income Guarantee

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in Wythenshawe and Sale, East who (a) qualify for and (b) claim the minimum income guarantee; and how many will be eligible for the new pension credit.

Ian McCartney: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows:
	As at August 2001 there were 4,700 minimum income guarantee (MIG) claimants in the Wythenshawe and Sale, East constituency.
	Estimates of the number of people who may be eligible for, but who have not claimed the MIG are not available below national level.
	It is estimated that around half of all pensioner households, that's over 5 million pensioners, stand to gain from the introduction of pension credit.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applicants there have been to date for the minimum income guarantee from pensioners within the Harwich constituency; how many have been approved; and what estimate he has made of the total number of potential applicants.

Ian McCartney: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows:
	As at August 2001 there were 4,200 minimum income guarantee (MIG) claimants in the Harwich constituency.
	Estimates of the number of people who may be eligible for, but who have not claimed the MIG, are not available below national level.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Glasgow, Cathcart constituency are benefiting from the minimum income guarantee.

Ian McCartney: As at August 2001 there were 2,500 minimum income guarantee claimants in the Glasgow, Cathcart constituency.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what are the projected additional annual costs at current prices for each of the next 35 years for (a) the annual uprating of the minimum income guarantee in line with average earnings, (b) the pensioner credit, (c) raising the level of the basic state pension to the level of the MIG for (i) all pensioners, (ii) all pensioners over 75 and (iii) all pensioners over 80 years and (d) the annual uprating of the state second pension in line with average earnings.

Ian McCartney: pursuant to his reply, 17 January 2002, c. 45960W
	The information requested for (b) is set out in the paper The Pension Credit: long-term projections, which has been placed in the House Library.
	The additional information requested is set out in the tables:
	
		(a) Additional annual costs of earnings uprating of minimum income guarantee (MIG)(70)
		
			 Year  billion 
		
		
			 2002 0.4 
			 2003 0.6 
			 2004 0.7 
			 2010 1.0 
			 2020 3.0 
			 2030 7.0 
			 2040 9.0 
			 2050 11.0 
		
	
	(70) 200102 prices
	
		(c) Annual costs in 200102 prices of increasing the basic state pension to the level of the Minimum Income Guarantee and then uprating by earnings thereafter --  billion
		
			 Year All Over 75s Over 80s 
		
		
			 2002 8.5 3.8 2.2 
			 2005 10.7 4.7 2.8 
			 2010 15.8 6.6 3.9 
			 2015 21.3 8.9 5.3 
			 2020 27.5 12.1 7.0 
			 2025 36.8 17.3 9.6 
			 2030 48.6 22.2 13.6 
			 2035 61.0 28.5 17.1 
			 2050 92.3 51.4 34.1 
		
	
	
		(d) Annual costs in 200102 prices of earnings uprating state second pension (S2P)
		
			 Year  billion 
		
		
			 2002 0.0 
			 2005 0.0 
			 2010 0.0 
			 2015 0.1 
			 2020 0.3 
			 2025 0.7 
			 2030 1.2 
			 2035 2.0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All costs are for Great Britain.
	2. The costs of earnings uprating of the MIG are rounded to the nearest one billion pounds from 2010 onwards. Costs are not available for every year requested.
	3. The costs of earnings uprating of the MIG assumes that pensioners' incomes grow over the long term at the same pace as average earnings and the distribution of earnings is the same over time in earnings terms. Average earnings are assumed to grow in line with Treasury economic assumptions until the end of the Parliament and then 1.5 per cent. above inflation over time.
	4. The costs of earnings uprating of the MIG are calculated as compared to price uprating. Because pensioners' incomes tend to grow over time faster than inflation, the costs of the MIG under price uprating would fall dramatically over time as ever fewer pensioners would be entitled to ever smaller amounts. The costs of increases in the basic state pension and state pension are net of income related benefit savings that would be generated by these increases.
	5. The costs of increases in the basic state pension and state second pension are net of income related benefit savings that would be generated by these increases.
	6. The costs given for earnings uprating of second state pension assume that expenditure on SERPS (accruals up to 200102) would not be affected.
	7. The costs of earnings uprating of the state second pension only begin to become significant by 2015 because S2P only begins accruing in 200203 and therefore the amount of S2P in payment will be negligible for some time after that.
	8. The costs shown for state second pension in the table have been calculated based on the estimated costs of S2P which were shown in the report by the Government Actuary on the Financial Effects of the National Insurance Fund of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Bill 1999 (Cm 4573). The costs shown are the increase in expenditure over and above the baseline projected S2P expenditure shown in this report.
	9. It has been assumed that the basic state pension and state pension changes would not happen together. If they did, there would be an interaction because the lower earnings limit is linked to the basic state pension. This means that the cost of S2P would be reduced if the basic state pension and, therefore, the LEL were raised.
	10. The pensioner population is assumed to grow according to GAD's central population growth estimates.
	Source:
	The Government Actuary's Department

Private Pension Funds

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2002, Official Report, column 812W, if he intends to include potential or attributed income from individual private pension funds, not yet annuitised or drawn down, in the assessment of pension credit.

Ian McCartney: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave him on 23 January 2002, Official Report, column 851W.

Medical Assessment Services

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action he is taking to improve professional expertise and awareness of disability issues by medical assessment staff contracted to his Department.

Nick Brown: All doctors who work for SchlumbergerSema Medical Services on benefit assessments receive mandatory training in disability assessment. This includes assessment of mental health problems, and appropriate behaviours, attitudes, and sensitivities for dealing with people with disabilities.
	All Medical Services doctors participate in a regular programme of continuing professional education, which ensures they maintain up to date knowledge of disabling conditions. The current year's programme includes a module on sensory impairment, which has been developed in consultation with organisations representing people with visual and/or hearing impairments; and a module on rehabilitation.
	Medical Services and this Department encourage and sponsor doctors working for Medical Services to sit the examination for the Diploma in Disability Assessment Medicine.

Vocational Rehabilitation

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking in conjunction with other Departments to improve awareness of vocational rehabilitation issues by general practitioners (a) in their initial training and (b) through continuing professional development.

Nick Brown: A major goal of the Government is to help those people who become sick or disabled and who can work to do so, either by retaining their job or by rehabilitating to new employment. The Government recognise the important role that general practitioners play in this area through the treatment they provide to patients of working age and through the advice they provide as certifying medical practitioners.
	This Department's Chief Medical Adviser issues guidance to GPs in relation to their role as certifying medical practitioners which stresses the need for clinical management which will encourage and support work retention and rehabilitation. In conjunction with the medical professional bodies this Department has developed training material for GP registrars. This material, along with further information for established GPs, such as evidence based recovery times, can be found on the Department's website www.dwp.gov.uk/medical. This information is also available in the House of Commons Library. We have also supported a project by Staffordshire university to develop a distance learning course for GPs in occupational health and rehabilitation matters. We are planning to develop additional on-line educational tools for GPs which will support work retention and rehabilitation.

Winter Fuel Allowance

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason payments of winter fuel allowances have been delayed for up to 28 days.

Ian McCartney: It is the Department's intention that winter fuel payments are received before Christmas. Because of the volumes involved they are made on a rolling programme throughout November. This year around 11 million, the overwhelming majority, were made before Christmas as we had undertaken to do.
	For those customers who were required to make a claim (normally men aged 6064) payment should be made before Christmas on claims received prior to 24 September.

Winter Fuel Allowance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many men over the age of 60 years who were entitled to the winter allowance in their own right have so far failed to make such a claim; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Those who attained age 60 before or during the qualifying week and were not in receipt of benefits which trigger automatic entitlement, have to claim. To date, 74 per cent. of claim forms that were issued to all potentially eligible people have been returned. The deadline for claiming is 30 March 2002.

Winter Fuel Allowance

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate (a) the number of households entitled to an automatic winter fuel payment this winter and (b) the number of those payments that were issued before 25 December 2001.

Ian McCartney: The number of households entitled to an automatic winter fuel payment this winter will not be available until later in the year. However, around 11 million individual automatic payments were identified with most issued before 25 December 2001.

New Deal

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the (a) Government Departments and (b) agencies which have (i) signed national new deal employer agreements, (ii) signed employer agreements with local jobcentres and (iii) not signed new deal employer agreements.

Nick Brown: The following Government Departments and agencies have signed national new deal employer agreements:
	Benefits Agency
	Cabinet Office
	Charity Commission
	Child Support Agency
	Court Service
	Crown Prosecution Service
	Department for Education and Skills
	Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	Department for Work and Pensions
	Department of Health
	Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
	DSS Youth Training
	Employment Service
	Health and Safety Executive
	HM Customs and Excise
	HM Land Registry
	HM Prison Service
	HM Treasury
	Home Office
	Inland Revenue
	Insolvency Service
	Lord Chancellor's Department
	Maritime and Coastguard Agency
	Radiocommunications Agency
	The Rent Service
	Treasury Solicitors Department
	Vehicle Inspectorate.
	Information on those Departments and agencies which have and those which have not signed employer agreements with local jobcentres is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

New Deal

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job brokers have been appointed under the New Deal for Disabled People; what the average client-base is per broker; how many brokers have a case load (a) exceeding 100 and (b) less than 10; and what proportion of job placements have resulted in long-term employment.

Nick Brown: holding answer 17 January 2002
	A total of 64 job brokers have been appointed under the new deal for disabled people.
	Under the new deal for disabled people, long-term employment is defined as sustained employment of six months or more. As the new deal for disabled people only became operational on a national basis in July 2001, it is too early to provide figures on job placements resulting in long-term employment.
	Some job brokers are area-based while others operate nationally so it is not possible to produce an average client base. Latest figures of job brokers in operation show that 14 have a current caseload of less than 10 clients but 15 already have a caseload of over 100.

Refurbishment

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the cost of buildings refurbishment carried out by his Department in each of the last four years.

Ian McCartney: The cost of buildings refurbishment in DWP for each of the last four years is as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 199899 6,923,448 
			 19992000 9,682,536 
			 200001 8,662,522 
			 200102 17,613,051 
		
	
	Refurbishment of former DSS offices is the responsibility of Land Securities Trillium as the prime contractor in accordance with their Life Cycle Capital Expenditure programme. This programme is designed to maintain the required accommodation standard within our offices. The cost of this is already accounted for in the contract price that is paid for each building.
	The refurbishment costs quoted are for offices in the former ES and include Jobcentre Plus Pathfinder offices from April 2001. The increase in 200102 over previous years is accounted for by the commencement of the roll out of Jobcentre Plus.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 6 November 2001, Official Report, column 195W, on industrial injuries disablement benefit, for what reason information is not available on claims for industrial injuries disablement benefit which have been refused as a result of the applicant's condition being caused through work processes and not as a result of accident or prescribed disease; and how the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council monitors this situation.

Nick Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 29 November 2001, Official Report, column 1145W.

Benefit Statistics

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of people in (a) the constituency of Buckingham and (b) total UK population claim (i) incapacity benefit, (ii) the children's tax credit, (iii) bereavement benefit, (iv) attendance allowance, (v) council tax credit, (vi) invalid care allowance, (vii) housing benefit and (viii) disability living allowance.

Nick Brown: Population figures are not available for parliamentary constituencies. The available information is in the table.
	
		Percentage of GB population in receipt of benefits(71)
		
			 Benefit Great Britain(72) 
		
		
			 Incapacity benefit 4.2 
			 Bereavement benefit(73) 0.5 
			 Attendance allowance 2.2 
			 Disability living allowance 3.9 
			 Council tax benefit 10.0 
			 Housing benefit 8.0 
			 Invalid care allowance 0.7 
		
	
	(71) Children's tax credit is the responsibility of the Inland Revenue.
	(72) Figures for Northern Ireland are not included. Social security matters in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
	(73) Bereavement benefit includes bereavement allowance and widowed parent's allowance which were introduced for new claims from April 2001 and widow's pension or widowed mother's allowance.
	Sources:
	Incapacity benefit5 per cent. sample at 31 August 2001.
	Bereavement benefit100 per cent. count at 31 August 2001.
	Disability living allowance and attendance allowance100 per cent. count at 31 August 2001.
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit100 per cent. case load stock-count at 10 May 2001.
	Invalid care allowance100 per cent. extract of the computer system at 30 September 2001.
	Population dataOffice for National Statistics, Population Estimates Unit (estimated resident population mid-2000 based on the 1991 census).

Unemployment (Disabled People)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people were on Disability Employment Service instigated training courses in each month since January 1997, expressed (a) numerically and (b) as a percentage of total unemployed disabled people (i) nationally and (ii) in the south-west.

Nick Brown: The information requested is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HEALTH

Beta Interferon

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the prescribing of beta interferon.

Hazel Blears: We are currently holding discussions with the manufacturers to consider a range of options under which drugs for multiple sclerosis might be made available under the national health service. One option is a 'risk-sharing' scheme which will evaluate their clinical and cost effectiveness.

NHS Estate

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all NHS estate disposals undertaken in (a) 200001 and (b) 200102, specifying the additions to public funds achieved.

John Hutton: A schedule provides details of the disposals achieved by National Health Service Estates on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in 200001 and the total proceeds generated from them in that year has been placed in the Library.
	Details of the individual properties sold by NHS trusts are not collected centrally. In 200001 NHS trusts received income from the sale of fixed assets of 378 million. While this sum covers all fixed assets, the majority was from the disposal of land and buildings. This information is not yet available for 200102.

Cloned Embryos

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the recent high court decision on the regulation of the creation or use of cloned human embryos.

Yvette Cooper: In its judgment given on 15 November 2001 in the judicial review brought by the Pro-Life Alliance, the High Court declared that embryos created other than by fertilisation were not regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The Government were granted leave to appeal.
	On 18 January 2002 the Court of Appeal unanimously overturned the original judgment. This means that the creation and use of embryos created by cell nuclear replacement (so called 'cloned embryos') is governed by the 1990 Act and regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. The Pro-Life Alliance was refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords and costs were awarded to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.

Waiting Lists

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral statement of 6 December 2001 on waiting lists, if individuals in Worcestershire who have removed themselves from NHS waiting lists and paid to have major heart surgery performed will be able to seek reimbursement for their local health authority or elsewhere; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: On 6 December 2001, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced a patient choice package. From July 2002, if a patient with coronary heart disease has been on an in-patient waiting list for over six months, they will be able to seek swifter treatment in either the private sector, in another European Union country or in a different national health service hospital.
	This patient choice package is not, however, retrospective and patients who have previously chosen to elect for private treatment, cannot be reimbursed by the NHS under any circumstances.
	The decision to treat NHS patients in private facilities will be made locally. Those local decisions should be made on the basis of proper involvement in the planning process. Services bought from the private sector will be paid for by the NHS body commissioning the work (usually the primary care group/primary care trust) and the patient will receive free NHS service in the private sector organisation.
	Any decision to use private sector providers will be made on the basis of value for money, clinical need and all appropriate clinical standards must be maintained.

Waiting Lists

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of patients that have hospital appointments postponed as a result of being away from home when contacted by hospitals.

John Hutton: Data are not collected centrally on the numbers of patients whose operations have been postponed as a result of being away from home when contacted by hospitals.

Hospital Beds (Birmingham)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) general and (b) acute beds are (i) provided at the Queen Elizabeth and Selly Oak hospitals in Birmingham and (ii) proposed for the replacement hospital; how many intermediate care beds (A) are provided by the NHS in Birmingham and (B) will be provided in 2007; and if he will make a statement on the definition of general, acute and intermediate care beds.

Yvette Cooper: The average daily number of available general and acute beds at University Hospital Birmingham national health service trust, for 200001 is 1,000 beds 1 . According to the University Hospital Birmingham national health service trust business plan for the new hospital current proposals are based on an assumption of 1,185 general and acute beds for 2008.
	For the first time the Department has been collating data for availability of intermediate care beds. Central figures are not currently available, but local data suggest that there are 220 intermediate care beds in Birmingham. This includes those provided in non-NHS organisations. The National Beds Inquiry model suggests that Birmingham needs at least a further 100 intermediate care beds, for when the new private finance initiative hospital is completed. Birmingham health authority is planning phased development of this.
	General and acute includes all in-patient beds open overnight except for maternity, mental illness and learning disability beds. General and acute include intermediate care beds provided by national health service trusts and primary care trusts.
	Intermediate care encompasses a wide range of service models and can be provided in a range of settings. The beds in this category reflect the residential rehabilitation service model and may be either 'step down' that is following a stay in acute hospital, or 'step up' that is referral by a general practitioner, social services or a rapid response team in cases which would otherwise necessitate acute admission or admission to longer-term residential care.
	1 Source:
	KornerKH03

Efficiency Task Force

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the NHS Efficiency Task Force last met.

John Hutton: The Efficiency Task Force last met on 28 June 1999.
	We now take a wider view of performance, that also includes the delivery of quality and access targets. The continued development of our approach to performance is now informed by the Performance Working Group. The aim of the Performance Working Group is to provide practical advice on the design and implementation of a system and approach to performance management. It has members from the national health service, academics, and patient's organisations. It met four times in 2001, and last met on 24 January 2002.
	We have introduced a range of measures to improve performance in the NHS. This includes the publication of comparative informationas part of the performance indicators; investmentincluding 7,500 more consultants and 20,000 more nurses by 2004; setting national standardsthrough the national service frameworks; stronger regulation and inspectionwhere the Commission for Health Improvement plays a key role; and spreading best practicefor example, by the Modernisation Agency.

Health Trusts (Private Medical Insurance)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate for each English health trust (a) the total expenditure by the trust on private medical insurance for trust employees and (b) the number of employees provided with private medical insurance in each of the years 199798 to 200102; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 18 December 2001
	Information about the provision of private medical insurance for national health service trust employees is not collected centrally.

Roaccutane

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Medical Control Agency about greater controls on the use of Roaccutane and better information on the packaging of this drug.

Hazel Blears: Roaccutane (isotretinoin) is licensed only for the treatment of very severe and disfiguring forms of acne. Roaccutane is a prescription only medicine and the terms of the marketing authorisation specify that it must be prescribed by, or under the supervision of, a consultant dermatologist. In addition, the supply of Roaccutane is restricted to hospitals or specified retail pharmacies. It is rare for the licensing authority to restrict prescription and supply in this way.
	The safety of all medicines on the United Kingdom market is continuously monitored by the Medicines Control Agency. The product information includes the summary of product characteristics for prescribers and the patient information leaflet included in each pack of the medicine. These are also kept under continuous review to make sure that they provide the most up to date and relevant information to healthcare professionals and the public regarding the safe use of the medicine.
	The product information for Roaccutane was last updated in June 2001 with regard to warnings and possible side effects. One of the key previous amendments to the product information was the strengthening of the warning relating to depression and other psychiatric reactions including suicide, which was approved in March 1998.

Hospital PFI Projects

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the (a) progress and (b) likely future timescale of each of the hospital PFI projects which have been selected as pilots for the contracting-out of the management of ancillary staff.

John Hutton: holding answer 9 January 2002
	Recent progress has been good. The risk matrix, which states which parties manage the various risks in the retention of employment model, has been agreed by Unison, private sector contractors and the Department. Bidders at the three pilot sites are now finalising their best and final offers incorporating the risk matrix and these will be received shortly. This will allow an evaluation of the model, along with establishing if it is value for money, to take place during March. If successful, the first contracts should be signed in March.

NHS (Early Retirement Costs)

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of early retirement to the NHS budget was in the financial year 200001.

John Hutton: The Department does not hold details of total early retirement costs for 200001 for the national health service. However, under the provisions of the NHS compensation for premature retirement scheme, during 200001, NHS employers have paid ongoing contributions totalling 86,118,000 and capital sums totalling 106,603,000, which includes 46,419,000 for a special exercise to clear residual liabilities for scheme members over age 60. These contributions defray expenditure on benefits, in respect of early retirements in the years up to and including 200001.

Vein of Galen

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what facilities are available within the NHS for treating the condition of Vein of Galen; what specialists on the treatment of Vein of Galen are available to treat patients through the NHS; and whether the Great Ormond Street Hospital provides specialist treatment for the Vein of Galen malformation.

Jacqui Smith: Great Ormond Street jointly manages the provision of national health service funded specialist clinical services for this condition in partnership with the National Hospital for Neuroscience. As a national tertiary centre, Great Ormond Street arranges treatment and aftercare for all United Kingdom referrals for children who either have or have had this condition. As this is a relatively new, highly specialist and developing service, a clinical review body has been organised to assess the most appropriate interventions on an individual case by case basis.
	Great Ormond Street has recently appointed a new consultant in this specialty, whom they intend to send to Paris for specific training in this procedure. There are currently no children waiting for surgical intervention for this condition in the UK.

Respiratory Disease

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost of treating respiratory disease to the NHS in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: The Department does not have precise details of the cost of treating respiratory disease. However it estimated that respiratory disease accounted for approximately 6 per cent. of hospital expenditure, 13 per cent. of primary care expenditure and 12 per cent. of pharmaceutical expenditure.

Two Shires Ambulance NHS Trust

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on improved ambulance communications in the Two Shires Ambulance NHS trust area in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Information is not available centrally on expenditure on improved ambulance communications by the trust in each year since 1997.

Care of Vulnerable Adults

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what legislation is in place to prosecute individuals who (a) neglect and (b) abuse vulnerable adults in care settings; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 15 January 2002
	It is an offence under section 127 of the Mental Health Act 1983 to ill-treat or wilfully neglect mentally ill patients. In addition, the Mental Health Act 1959 makes it an offence for a man to have sexual intercourse with a mentally disordered woman in his care. Those who commit offences against other vulnerable adults will be liable to prosecution for criminal offences which are of general application.

Food Standards Agency

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are employed by the Food Standards Agency in (a) the north-west and (b) Lancashire.

Yvette Cooper: In the north-west (defined as covering Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria) 180 staff currently work for the Food Standards Agency and the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), which is an executive agency of the FSA. Of these, 90 staff work in Lancashire.
	The MHS also employs some 49 contract official veterinary surgeons in the north-west, of which 16 are in Lancashire. The actual numbers vary from week to week.

Food Standards Agency

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are employed by the Food Standards Agency in Wales.

Yvette Cooper: 21 staff currently work for the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Wales. Of these, 18 staff are on loan from the National Assembly for Wales.
	The Meat Hygiene Service, which is an executive agency of the FSA, employs a further 241 staff. The Meat Hygiene Service also employs some 55 official veterinary surgeons on contract although the actual number varies from week to week.

Epidemiological Data

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether continuity of epidemiological data will be maintained for areas which were health authorities before the latest reorganisation.

John Hutton: Information needs in the light of the current re-organisation are currently being considered. Continuity of data will be an issue but it will also be important to provide data at operational levels of the new organisation where responsibilities will lie and decisions be made.
	From later this year primary care trusts will be taking on the majority of functions of existing health authorities and will be the focal point locally for improving the health of the community, securing high quality services and integrating health and social care locally. Data at this level will therefore be the main priority.

Health Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the planned expenditure on health as a percentage of GDP in (a) 200102, (b) 200203 and (c) 200304.

John Hutton: The planned gross national health service expenditure on health as a percentage of gross domestic product for the financial years 200102, 200203 and 200304 is shown in the table. The figure for 200203 includes the extra 1 billion announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his pre-Budget report on the 27 November 2001.
	
		Gross NHS spend as a percentage of GDP
		
			  NHS spend 
		
		
			 200102 6.3 
			 200203 6.5 
			 200304 6.6 
		
	
	Note:
	These figures do not include private spending

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of (a) surgery and (b) medicinal drugs on the life expectancy of those who have rheumatoid arthritis.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 17 January 2002
	Research in England does not answer this specific question. However, recent research in the United States of America suggests that the average life expectancy of those with rheumatoid arthritis is shortened by about four years for women and eight years for men. Although modern medical and surgical treatment have done a great deal to improve the quality of life for people with rheumatoid arthritis, evidence suggests that there is still room for the development of more effective treatments.
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently considering the clinical use of etanercept and infliximab as second-line treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in adults. The appraisal is expected to be issued in March 2002.

Carbon Monoxide

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase awareness of the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning among the medical profession.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 17 January 2002
	In September 1998, the then Chief Medical Officer, Sir Kenneth Calman and the then Chief Nursing Officer, Mrs. Yvonne Moores published a letter Carbon Monoxide: The Forgotten Killer. The letter pulled together the most current information available on carbon monoxide and was forwarded to community nurses, midwives, health visitors and general practitioners, who are most likely to be aware of patients' living conditions and so can identify those at increased risk. This letter is currently being revised for re-issue and will be circulated soon.
	The Department is also hoping to forward a video tape, prepared for the Health and Safety Executive, to all GP surgeries. This video tape highlights the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning and advises medical practitioners on how to diagnose possible cases of poisoning.

Health Authorities

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the proportion of non-executive posts filled by people living in Warrington, North in health authorities and trusts covering the Warrington, North constituency (a) in 1997 and (b) at the latest available date.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 17 January 2002
	The information requested is given in the table:
	
		Non-executive posts on national health service boards serving the Warrington North constituency occupied by people living -- in Warrington North(74)
		
			  1997 (April) 2002 (January) 
		
		
			 Clatterbridge Centre Oncology NHS Trust 0 (6) 0 (6) 
			 Mersey Regional Ambulance Service NHS Trust 0 (5) 0 (5) 
			 North Cheshire Health Authority 1 (6) 1 (6) 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust (75) 1 (6) 
			 Warrington Community Trust 2 (6) 2 (6) 
			 Warrington Primary Care Trust (75) (76)0 (0) 
			 Warrington Hospital NHS Trust 0 (6) (75) 
			 5 Boroughs NHS Trust (75) (76)0 (0) 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority (75) (77)0 (1) 
			  
			 Total 3 (29) 4 (30) 
		
	
	(74) Figures in brackets give total number of non-executives on board.
	(75) Body did not exist or no longer exists
	(76) No appointments made to date
	(77) Only chair appointment made to date

Care Homes (London)

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nursing and (b) residential homes have closed in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The number of residential care homes and nursing homes 1 for each year since 1997 is given in the tables.
	Information on nursing homes is collected at health authority rather than local authority level.
	1 General and mental nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics. Includes dual registered homes, therefore the number of residential homes and nursing homes should not be added together.
	
		Table 1: Number of nursing homes and private hospitals and clinics, 1997 to 2001as at 31 March
		
			 Health authority(78) 1997(79) 1998(79) 1999(79) 2000(79) 2001(79) 
		
		
			 Barking and Havering 18 22 23 24 24 
			 Barnet 29 34 35 36 32 
			 Bexley and Greenwich 19 29 28 24 23 
			 Brent and Harrow 24 32 37 35 37 
			 Bromley 35 34 29 29 29 
			 Camden and Islington 14 14 17 18 17 
			 Croydon 33 36 40 (80) 38 
			 Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow 23 33 30 34 32 
			 East London and The City 15 16 26 19 20 
			 Enfield and Haringey 30 32 31 28 29 
			 Hillingdon 13 12 13 14 15 
			 Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster 40 57 63 63 71 
			 Kingston and Richmond 23 23 22 22 22 
			 Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham 49 58 68 69 67 
			 Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 61 61 66 66 68 
			 Redbridge and Waltham Forest 24 27 26 27 24 
		
	
	(78) Information on nursing homes is collected at health authority rather than local authority level.
	(79) The number of homes in 1997 refers to the period 1 October 1996 to 31 March 1997
	(80) Not available
	Source:
	Department of Health annual returns
	
		Table 2: Number of residential care homes(81),(82) 1997 to 2001 -- At 31 March
		
			 London Borough(83) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 29 33 33 33 31 
			 Barnet 112 130 127 132 126 
			 Bexley 58 64 67 67 63 
			 Brent 92 95 97 87 87 
			 Bromley 112 100 107 107 99 
			 Camden 70 66 56 55 47 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Croydon 143 185 183 192 207 
			 Ealing 101 120 100 72 100 
			 Enfield 113 126 124 117 123 
			 Greenwich 46 50 19 45 47 
			 Hackney 39 39 34 38 46 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 34 33 (84) 33 32 
			 Haringey 104 94 109 116 122 
			 Harrow 77 76 75 77 76 
			 Havering 66 61 64 63 65 
			 Hillingdon 68 70 67 71 68 
			 Hounslow 39 44 43 48 40 
			 Islington 43 42 55 41 40 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 22 21 18 18 16 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 71 70 71 66 65 
			 Lambeth 119 115 114 108 105 
			 Lewisham 83 76 87 84 85 
			 Merton 54 52 60 56 61 
			 Newham 47 52 50 55 57 
			 Redbridge 69 77 72 75 70 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 54 63 59 55 55 
			 Southwark 78 46 73 72 72 
			 Sutton 62 64 62 60 59 
			 Tower Hamlets 31 28 28 28 23 
			 Waltham Forest 99 98 118 109 108 
			 Wandsworth 80 77 78 98 95 
			 Westminster 40 41 35 36 35 
		
	
	(81) Excludes children's homes
	(82) Includes dual registered homes, therefore the number of nursing homes and residential homes should not be added together.
	(83) Information is collected at the local authority geographical level and is presented for each London borough
	(84) Not available
	Source:
	Department of Health annual returns

Children's Hospices

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Children's Hospice Movement about their funding from the NHS; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what guidance he plans to give to primary care trusts about purchasing care from children's hospices; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I have not been in recent discussion with the Children's Hospice Movement, however officials in the Department maintain a line of communication with the Association of Children's Hospices, particularly but not exclusively on the subject of funding. This includes the role to be played by the New Opportunities Fund which, later this year, will invite applications for finance in support of projects to assist children with life threatening illnesses.
	Funding available from primary care trusts for services provided by children's hospices is subject to local negotiation. Guidance was issued in February 1998, Evaluation of the Pilot Project Programme for Children with Life Threatening Illnesses which addresses the range of options available including hospice care. Regional offices of the Department have been asked to work with health professionals and agencies to identify current service provision and any gaps in this provision, with a view to obtaining a better strategic fit.
	As we develop the National Service Framework (NSF) for children we will consider the needs of disabled children, including those whose disability is sadly of a life threatening nature and for whom respite care at a children's hospice is the option of choice. Francine Bates, chief executive of Contact-A-Family, is chairing the Disabled Child Working Group, one of six working groups which are developing detailed advice on the content of the NSF.

Monitored Dosage Medicines

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with primary care groups and trusts concerning the handling charge on monitored dosage medicines being introduced by Boots the Chemists.

Hazel Blears: We have had no such discussions.

Monitored Dosage Medicines

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many patients of the NHS receive monitored dosage medicines;
	(2)  how many patients of the NHS on monitored dosage medicines do not get free prescriptions.

Hazel Blears: Monitored dosage systems and other multi-compartment medicines compliance aids are widely used, especially by residents of care homes. We do not, however, hold any information centrally about the number of national health service patients whose medicines are dispensed in this way, nor about how many of those patients are entitled to free prescriptions.

Health Trusts (Leeds)

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nurses, (b) doctors, broken down by specialty and (c) consultants, broken down by specialty were employed by trusts in Leeds in (i) 1997, (ii) 1998, (iii) 1999, (iv) 2000 and (v) 2001.

John Hutton: The number of nurses employed by trusts in Leeds in the years 1997 to 2000 are shown in table 1. The number of doctors and consultants, broken down by specialty, employed in the Leeds health authority area in the years 1997 to 2000 are shown in table 2. Data are not held on the number of doctors and consultants, broken down by specialty, employed by trusts. Figures for 2001 are not yet available.
	
		Table 1: NHS hospital and community health services (HCHS): Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed by trusts within Leeds HA as at 30 September each year
		
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  
			  wte hc wte hc wte hc wte hc 
		
		
			  Total Leeds HA
			 Total nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 5,620 6,980 5,440 6,880 5,420 6,900 5,570 7,050 
			 of which: 
			 Qualified 4,860 5,790 4,720 5,750 4,700 5,710 4,890 5,870 
			 Unqualified 770 1,190 720 1,130 720 1,190 680 1,170 
			  Leeds community and mental health services, teaching hospitals NHS trust 
			 Total nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 1,530 1,970 1,450 1,850 1,470 1,930 1,500 2,010 
			 of which: 
			 Qualified 1,160 1,400 1,130 1,370 1,150 1,400 1,160 1,410 
			 Unqualified 370 570 320 490 320 520 340 600 
			  St. James's and Seacroft university hospitals NHS trust 
			 Total nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 1,920 2,400 (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) 
			 of which: 
			 Qualified 1,680 2,030 (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) 
			 Unqualified 240 370 (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) 
			  United Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust 
			 Total nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 2,170 2,610 (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) 
			 of which: 
			 Qualified 2,020 2,360 (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) 
			 Unqualified 150 250 (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) (85) 
			  Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust 
			 Total nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (85) (85) 3,990 5,020 3,950 4,970 4,060 5,030 
			 of which: 
			 Qualified (85) (85) 3,590 4,380 3,550 4,300 3,720 4,460 
			 Unqualified (85) (85) 400 640 390 670 340 570 
		
	
	(85) Not applicable
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Due to rounding totals may not equal the sum of component parts.
	3. Figures exclude learners and agency staff.
	4. Unqualified figures include unclassified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff
	5. wte = whole-time equivalents
	6. hc = head count
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
	
		Table 2: Hospital, public health medicine (PHM) and community health service (CHS) medical and dental staff at Leeds health authority -- by specialty and gradeAs at 30 SeptemberNumbers and whole-time equivalents
		
			   1997  1998  
			  All staff Consultants All staff Consultants All staff consultants All staff Consultants 
			  no. wte no. wte no. wte no. wte 
		
		
			 All specialties 1,550 1,300 530 440 1,520 1,310 520 460 
			 Accident and emergency medicine 60 50 10 10 60 60 10 10 
			 Additional dental specialties 0 0 (84) (84) 0 0 (84) (84) 
			 Anaesthetics 160 140 70 60 150 140 70 70 
			 Audiological medicine (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) 
			 Cardiology 40 30 10 10 40 40 20 20 
			 Cardio-thoracic surgery 20 20 10 10 20 20 0 0 
			 Chemical pathology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Child and adolescent psychiatry 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Clinical cytogenetics and molecular genetics (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) 
			 Clinical genetics 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Clinical neurophysiology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Clinical oncology 30 20 20 10 30 30 20 20 
			 Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Clinical radiology 70 60 40 30 70 60 30 30 
			 Community health service dental 20 10 (84) (84) 10 10 (84) (84) 
			 Community health service medical 30 20 (84) (84) 30 20 (84) (84) 
			 Dental public health 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dermatology 20 10 10 10 20 10 10 10 
			 Endocrinology and diabetes melitus 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Forensic psychiatry 0 0 0 0 (84) (84) (84) (84) 
			 Gastroenterology 20 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 General (internal) medicine 60 60 10 10 70 60 10 10 
			 General psychiatry 70 50 30 20 70 60 30 20 
			 General surgery 90 90 30 30 90 80 20 20 
			 Genito-urinary medicine 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Geriatric medicine 80 70 20 20 70 60 20 20 
			 Haematology 30 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Histopathology 40 30 20 20 40 30 20 20 
			 Immunology 10 10 10 10 0 0 0 0 
			 Infectious diseases 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Intensive therapy (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) (84) 
			 Med microbiology and virology 20 10 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Medical oncology 20 10 10 0 20 20 10 0 
			 Neurology 20 10 10 10 20 10 10 10 
			 Neuropathology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Neurosurgery 20 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Obstetrics and gynaecology 90 70 20 20 80 70 20 20 
			 Occupational medicine 0 0 (84) (84) 0 0 (84) (84) 
			 Old age psychiatry 30 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Ophthalmology 40 30 10 10 40 30 10 10 
			 Oral and maxillo-facial surgery 20 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Orthodontics 10 10 10 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Other 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Otolaryngology 20 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Paediatric cardiology 0 0 (84) (84) 0 0 (84) (84) 
			 Paediatric dentistry 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Paediatric surgery 20 10 10 10 20 20 0 0 
			 Paediatrics 100 80 30 20 110 90 30 30 
			 Palliative medicine 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Plastic surgery 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Psychiatry of learning disability 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Psychotherapy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Public health medicine 30 20 20 10 20 20 20 10 
			 Rehabilitation medicine 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Renal medicine 20 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Respiratory medicine 20 10 0 0 20 10 10 10 
			 Restorative dentistry 30 10 10 10 40 20 10 10 
			 Rheumatology 20 10 10 10 20 10 10 0 
			 Trauma and orthopaedic surgery 40 40 20 10 50 40 20 10 
			 Urology 20 20 10 0 20 20 0 0 
		
	
	
		As at 30 SeptemberNumbers and whole time equivalents 
		
			   1999  2000  
			   All staff  Consultants  All staff  Consultants  
			  no. wte no. wte no. wte no. wte 
		
		
			 All specialties 1,550 1,330 510 460 1,550 1,380 510 470 
			 Accident and emergency medicine 70 70 10 10 60 60 10 10 
			 Additional dental specialties 0 0 (86) (86) 0 0 (86) (86) 
			 Anaesthetics 150 140 70 70 150 140 80 70 
			 Audiological medicine 0 0 (86) (86) (86) (86) (86) (86) 
			 Cardiology 50 50 20 20 40 40 20 20 
			 Cardio-thoracic surgery 20 20 10 10 30 30 10 10 
			 Chemical pathology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Child and adolescent psychiatry 20 10 10 0 20 10 10 0 
			 Clinical cytogenetics and molecular genetics (86) (86) (86) (86) 0 0 0 0 
			 Clinical genetics 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Clinical neurophysiology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Clinical oncology 30 20 20 10 30 20 20 10 
			 Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics 0 0 0 0 0 0 (86) (86) 
			 Clinical radiology 60 60 30 30 70 60 40 30 
			 Community health service dental 10 10 (86) (86) 10 10 (86) (86) 
			 Community health service medical 30 10 (86) (86) 30 10 (86) (86) 
			 Dental public health 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dermatology 20 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Endocrinology 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Forensic psychiatry (86) (86) (86) (86) (86) (86) (86) (86) 
			 Gastroenterology 20 20 10 10 30 30 10 10 
			 General (internal) medicine 50 40 10 10 40 40 0 0 
			 General psychiatry 100 90 30 30 100 90 30 20 
			 General surgery 100 90 30 20 110 100 30 30 
			 Genito-urinary medicine 10 10 0 0 20 10 0 0 
			 Geriatric medicine 50 50 20 10 60 60 10 10 
			 Haematology 20 20 10 10 20 10 10 10 
			 Histopathology 40 30 20 20 40 40 20 20 
			 Immunology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Infectious diseases 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Intensive therapy 0 0 (86) (86) (86) (86) (86) (86) 
			 Med microbiology and virology 20 10 10 10 20 10 10 10 
			 Medical oncology 30 20 10 0 20 20 10 0 
			 Neurology 20 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Neuropathology 0 0 0 0 (86) (86) (86) (86) 
			 Neurosurgery 10 10 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Obstetrics and gynaecology 80 60 20 20 80 60 20 20 
			 Occupational medicine 0 0 (86) (86) 0 0 (86) (86) 
			 Old age psychiatry 40 30 10 10 30 20 0 0 
			 Ophthalmology 40 30 10 10 40 40 10 10 
			 Oral and maxillo-facial surgery 20 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Orthodontics 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Otolaryngology 10 10 0 0 10 10 10 10 
			 Paediatric cardiology 0 0 (86) (86) 0 0 (86) (86) 
			 Paediatric dentistry 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Paediatric surgery 20 20 0 0 20 20 10 10 
			 Paediatrics 100 80 30 30 110 100 40 30 
			 Palliative medicine 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Plastic surgery 10 10 0 0 20 20 0 0 
			 Psychiatry of learning disability 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Psychotherapy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Public health medicine 20 20 10 10 20 10 10 10 
			 Rehabilitation medicine 10 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Renal medicine 20 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Respiratory medicine 30 20 10 10 30 30 10 10 
			 Restorative dentistry 40 20 10 10 20 20 10 10 
			 Rheumatology 20 10 10 0 20 10 0 0 
			 Trauma and orthopaedic surgery 50 40 10 10 50 50 20 10 
			 Urology 20 20 0 0 30 20 10 10 
		
	
	(86) Denotes zero
	Notes:
	1. 0 denotes less than 5.
	2. Figures rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Department of Health 2000 medical and dental work force census

Air Ambulances

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on when the research commissioned into the contribution made by air ambulances in the care and transportation of seriously ill patients will be completed;
	(2)  what methodology is being employed in the research he has commissioned into air ambulance services;
	(3)  whether the research he has commissioned into air ambulance services will include obtaining information about which services receive (a) staffing and (b) funding support from NHS bodies.

Hazel Blears: The Department is commissioning a wide-ranging piece of primary research that will examine the role and effectiveness of air ambulance services in a modern national health service. The first stage is already under way and will provide an up to date review of existing research evidence. It is intended that the new primary research will be completed by the end of 2003.
	There are currently 12 charitably funded air ambulance services operating in England. Those air ambulances are called out to emergencies by NHS ambulance trusts and generally staffed by NHS staff. Some NHS ambulance trusts are already meeting the salary costs of these staff and, from 1 April 2002, all NHS staff costs will be met from NHS funds.

Resuscitation Policy

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will draw up a national Do not Resuscitate policy.

Yvette Cooper: We are committed to ensure best practice in resuscitation decision-making throughout the national health service. In 2000, the Department published new guidance Resuscitation Policy (Health Service Circular 2000/28) which reinforces patients' rights on resuscitation decisions and aims to ensure that patients are properly involved.
	One of the basic principles of health care is that a competent patient has the right under common law to give or withhold consent to examination or treatment. In the case of patients who are not capable of consenting to treatment, and in the absence of a valid advance refusal of treatment, it is a doctor's duty to act in the best interests of the patient concerned. Decisions must be made on a case by case basis.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken by his Department to offer cardiac screening for the condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to children about to take part in competitive sport.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 22 January 2002
	The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (NSC) advises Ministers, the devolved National Assemblies and the Scottish Parliament on all aspects of screening policy. The NSC does not currently recommend screening for cardiomyopathy but is keeping its position under review.
	Current policy is that the relatives of a family with a known high risk of contracting this disease should receive regular cardiovascular examinations.
	The Department is working closely with the medical profession and voluntary organisations with a view to producing clear clinical guidance, which will play a very important part in raising awareness and improving diagnosis and testing of people at risk.

Herbal Remedies

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral statement of the Under- Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Salford (Ms Blears), on 20 November 2001, Official Report, columns 6266WH, if he will provide references for the well-documented histories of traditional use of herbal remedies in Europe; and if he will list those herbal products which are able to demonstrate a history of 30 years on the market.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 22 January 2002
	The European Commission's proposals for a directive on the registration of traditional herbal medicinal products include provision for a positive list of herbal substances, which will include any information necessary for their safe use. Where a traditional herbal medicine was within the parameters of that positive list it would not be necessary for applicants to demonstrate evidence of traditional use. Pending negotiations on the directive, the likely timetable for the development of such a list is not yet clear.
	Alternatively, under the published proposals, applicants would be able to produce bibliographic or expert evidence of traditional use for herbal medicinal products. Such products have been used extensively in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the European Union for many years, in the form both of individual remedies made up by herbalists and of manufactured products placed on the market by companies. There is a very wide range of possible sources which, taken together as necessary, potentially could provide the required evidence. These include: authoritative literature on herbalism; the practical evidence of numerous licensed or unlicensed manufactured products on the market in many EU member states; the long-standing lists of herbal medicines accepted as traditional by regulatory authorities in a number of member states; and the testimony of recognised experts on herbalism. This last source may be particularly helpful in confirming the patterns of usage of combinations of herbal ingredients.
	Our aim on this issue would be to minimise the regulatory impact on applicants of demonstrating traditional use, consistent with complying with legal requirements. The Medicines Control Agency intends to hold dialogue with the herbal sector with a view to developing guidance or criteria which would help meet this objective. Until these discussions have taken place, we think it would be premature to attempt to define specific acceptable sources in more detail.

Personal Social Services (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will increase the money for personal social services in Coventry to match the national average.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 23 January 2002
	Coventry's personal social services standard spending assessment increases in 200203 by about 4 per cent. compared to the national average increase of about 5 per cent. Coventry's increase is below the national average mainly because its population has decreased, whereas the national population has increased. Population size is a key factor in the SSA allocation formulae.

Digital Hearing Aids

Gillian Merron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to ensure that digital hearing aids can be provided by every NHS trust in the UK; and when the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust will receive them;
	(2)  when he estimates that health authorities in all areas of England will be able to provide digital hearing aids.

Jacqui Smith: We announced on 24 December 2001 that a further 20 million would be made available in 200203 for the modernising hearing aid services project. This will mean that by April 2003 at least 50 NHS sites will be fitting digital hearing aids and at least a further 15 will have the necessary training and equipment in place to fit digital hearing aids from 200304. Decisions on which sites will become involved in the project next year will be made shortly.
	The research evaluation of the modernising hearing aid services project is continuing and a final report is due at the end of this year. Decisions about further roll-out will be taken in the light of this evaluation.

First Aid

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resources he allocates for the promotion of the importance of training for first aid.

Yvette Cooper: Within the safety criteria of the national healthy school standard (NHSS) schools are asked to provide opportunities for all pupils to develop health skills in relation to first aid. The healthy schools programme funds education and health partnerships covering all local education authorities to provide expertise and support to schools working to achieve the NHSS.
	Additionally, the Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation White Paper of 1999 committed 2 million to install defibrillators (small portable electronic devices designed to save the lives of people who have suffered cardiac arrest) in high traffic public places such as busy railway stations, airports and large shopping complexes. Since April 2000 60 sites have had defibrillators installed under this initiative, and approximately 2,500 people have received training in basic life support and the use of a defibrillator.

NHS Dentists

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he plans to expand the number of dental access centres in Shropshire.

Yvette Cooper: Since 1999 we have invested over 1.5 million in the Shropshire dental access centre (DAC). The DAC currently operates from six sites. Two new sites are planned to open in the early months of this year.
	Central funding has been approved to employ an extra dentist in the Oswestry site of the DAC from April 2002.

Solihull Hospital

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 23 October 2001, Official Report, column 152W, on Solihull Hospital, if he will make a further statement on the future status of accident and emergency facilities at Solihull Hospital.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 24 January 2002
	At this time the service review of the accident and emergency department at Solihull Hospital being conducted by the accident and emergency sub-group of the Solihull Modernisation Board is continuing.
	This sub-group will be reporting back its findings to the newly established Solihull services review group project board in due course. It will be for the health authority, or its successor body after 31 March, to decide if there is to be any significant change to the service, and if so, this will need to be the subject of a formal consultation process.

Domiciliary Care

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation is occurring with local authorities on the subject of charging policies for domiciliary care.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 25 January 2002
	Consultation on draft guidance, Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care and other non-residential Social Services took place between 3 January and 30 March 2001. Statutory guidance was issued on 23 November 2001.

Diabetes

Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diabetes sufferers within the Harwich constituency have taken advantage of the use of pen needles since they were made available free within the national health service.

Jacqui Smith: Free insulin pen needles and certain reusable insulin pens have been available to diabetes sufferers since they were added to the drug tariff with effect from 1 March 2000.
	Nationally the number of prescription items for insulin pen needles dispensed in the community in England has increased from 78,000 in the period April 2000 to June 2000 to 154,000 in the period July 2001 to September 2001. Figures are not available centrally on a constituency basis.

NHS Eastern Region

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of (a) underspend and (b) overspend in the current financial year by each health authority in the NHS Eastern Region.

John Hutton: By the end of this financial year we expect all health authorities to live within their agreed resource limits. Where they require support at year-end this will be provided principally through brokerage from elsewhere in the national health service. This is normal practice in managing the year end financial position of individual bodies and for the NHS overall.

GPs

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were in each general practitioner practice within the Hillingdon health authority in each of the last seven years.

John Hutton: Under the terms of the Data Protection Act registration, we do not release data which identifies individual practices. As the main element of the general practitioner's remuneration is based on the number of patients on their list, it would be inappropriate to release the information requested.

Expectant Mothers

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Nuchal folds tests have been undertaken on expectant mothers aged over 35 years in each of the last three years in (a) the national health service and (b) the private sector.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 29 January 2002
	Information about the number of Nuchal fold tests undertaken in the national health service or the private sector is not collected centrally.

Care Home Standards

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to support and inform care home owners during the introduction of national minimum standards.

Jacqui Smith: I have today launched a package of measures to help the smooth introduction of the national minimum standards. This comprises:
	(i) Comprehensive statutory guidance from Ministers under section 6 of the Care Standards Act to the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) setting out the supportive way in which the standards should be applied. The guidance indicates that the standards should be used to help guide care homes on action they can take to improve their services. Time will be given to enable homes to meet the standards. Failure to meet standards will only be used as a reason to pursue de-registration in cases where services are a danger to vulnerable people.
	(ii) An information pack will be distributed to all registered care providers during February explaining how the national minimum standards and regulations will be operated and how the NCSC will work.
	(iii) A help line will be set up by the NCSC next month to answer questions from owners and managers of care homes about how the national minimum standards might apply to their service.
	The NCSC has been set up to encourage the provision of good quality care in care homes, not to close them down. This package is designed to help the NCSC achieve that.

Ambulance Service

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether responsibility to provide ambulances to return patients who need ambulance transport from hospital to their homes lies with the ambulance service (a) where the hospital is located and (b) where the patient lives.

Hazel Blears: Arrangements for non-emergency patient transport are determined locally. Responsibility for arranging that transport usually lies with the hospital treating the patient. In general, if the patient is attending for an out-patient appointment then either a general practitioner or the hospital makes arrangements for the journey into and out of hospital. If the patient is being discharged from a hospital, responsibility for arranging transport usually lies with the hospital. The actual transport is provided either by a national health service ambulance trust or other organisation commissioned by the hospital for that purpose.

Ambulance Service

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many patients, requiring ambulances to return from Hampshire hospitals to Dorset, were provided with them by (a) Hampshire ambulance service and (b) Dorset ambulance service in the last year for which information is available;
	(2)  how many patients, requiring ambulances to return from Hampshire hospitals to West Sussex, were provided with them by (a) Hampshire ambulance service and (b) West Sussex ambulance service in the last year for which information is available;
	(3)  how many patients, requiring ambulances to return from Hampshire hospitals to the Isle of Wight, were provided with them by (a) Hampshire ambulance service and (b) Isle of Wight ambulance service in the last year for which information is available;
	(4)  how many patients, requiring ambulances to return from Hampshire hospitals to Wiltshire, were provided with them by (a) Hampshire ambulance service and (b) Wiltshire ambulance service in the last year for which information is available.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not collected centrally. Information relating to ambulance service figures are available from the Chairman of the relevant ambulance service trusts.

NHS Trusts

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts he estimates will seek foundation status in the (a) current and (b) next financial year.

John Hutton: holding answer 23 January 2002
	We do not estimate that any trusts will seek foundation status in the current financial year. The number in the next financial year will be dependent on the outcome of the 2002 performance ratings and the number of three star trusts that choose to take that course.

NHS Trusts

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the total takings from the sale or leasing of property by an NHS trust with foundation status will accrue exclusively to that trust.

John Hutton: holding answer 23 January 2002
	Consideration is being given to foundation trusts having the right to keep all the proceeds from the sale of property. National health service trusts can already keep all the income they receive from leasing property, and this freedom will apply to foundation trusts.

MMR Vaccine

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what screening took place of members of the working party of the Medical Research Council on links between MMR vaccine and autism to avoid potential conflicts of interest;
	(2)  if he will list members of the Medical Research Council working party on the MMR vaccine and autism; and what declarations of interest they have made.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 8 January 2002
	In March 2001 the Department commissioned the Medical Research Council to undertake a wide-ranging and inclusive review of the current understanding of the causes and epidemiology of autism. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was only one of many suggested causes that were considered and is a small part of the whole report.
	The full report of the MRC review is available on the MRC's website www.mrc.ac.uk.
	The scientific experts of the review group were drawn mostly from outside the field of autism or MMR research. A third of the members comprised a lay group drawn from organisations representing the interests of people and families with autism, together with some who had other broad consumer interests.
	Along with its scientific assessment of the current knowledge of autism and recommendations for future research strategies, the MRC review included the code of conduct for the review groups, eligibility criteria for experts and lay members, and procedures for managing perceived and potential conflicts of interest. These were discussed and agreed by all members during the review process. Declarations of interest were sought early in the review from all members and from additional external advisers. They were kept up-to-date and a summary was provided at all review group meetings. Lists of members and the summary of their declarations of interest are published in the report at appendix 1, annex 3. The full declarations were available for scrutiny by members throughout the review.
	We have full confidence in the integrity of the review process.

MMR Vaccine

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MMR vaccines have been given in each health region in the last 12 months.

Yvette Cooper: Information is not available for the number of measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations given. Information about coverage rates for children immunised against MMR by region is contained in the Statistical Bulletin NHS Immunisation Statistics, England: 200001. A copy of the bulletin is in the Library and can also be found on the Department's website www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0121.htm.